Being Found
by MrRigger
Summary: COMPLETE! AU. Morino Ibiki was having a bad day. Then he met the container of the Kyuubi. Let's see how our favorite jinchuuriki ends up now. Epic length.
1. Chapter 1

Morino Ibiki was not having a good day.

His 'talents' weren't needed at the moment, all his drinking buddies were out on missions, his favorite sake bar was closed for repairs, and rent on his apartment was due.

Add this on top of his usual grumpy exterior, and it was no wonder people were getting out of his way.

His apartment was close, so he funneled some chakra into his legs, leapt across two rooftops, and started in through his window, until he heard the telltale grunts and taunts of a fight. Ibiki jumped down to the alley behind his apartment building and saw a set of people kicking something on the ground. He didn't know what they were kicking, but he knew whenever six people were around one thing kicking it on the ground, it generally wasn't good.

Ibiki stalked towards the group who still hadn't noticed his presence, getting a better look at what they were kicking. His killer intent started spiking with each step as he realized that they were kicking the tar out of a kid. He couldn't have been eight years old!

Ibiki growled as he lifted his fist and knocked the first person into the wall of the alley. The second person was backhanded in a similar manner before the other four even began to react. That was when he got really mad.

One of the people he was fighting was a chuunin! It was horrible to find something like this taking place, but to have a ninja of his own village take part in it was just disgusting. Ibiki chose the chuunin as his next target as the villagers realized just who it was and tried to run. Ibiki wasn't too concerned if they got away, he had gotten good looks at their faces, and they wouldn't get away from this situation without some kind of punishment. But right now, he was dealing with the ninja who would defile the principles of his village like this.

The chuunin drew a kunai and that was all that Ibiki needed. Ibiki stepped into chuunin's strike and slammed a fist into his face, breaking his nose, and stripped him of the kunai, sliding it into his own kunai pouch.

The other three had run off, but Ibiki had gotten a good look at their faces. They would be getting a visit from him, but right now, he had more important things to worry about. Such as a beaten kid at his feet.

Ibiki used a binding jutsu on the three unconscious people littering the alley, making sure that even in the unlikely event that they woke up, they wouldn't be going anywhere. After that was done, he turned back and was surprised.

Morino Ibiki was not a man who was easily surprised. He had seen a lot of things that would shock many people speechless. He didn't get assigned as the second in command of the ANBU's Torture and Interrogation Squad for nothing, and he was going to be the one who took it over once the current head retired. But what he was seeing now was truly surprising.

The six or seven year old kid, the kid he had just seen getting beat by six full grown men, _was getting back up!_

The bear sized man moved over to the blonde haired kid and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder, only to have it shrugged off.

"Easy kid. You shouldn't move right now, not until someone's checked you out to make sure you don't have any serious injuries."

The blonde haired kid, who Ibiki had finally recognized as the Kyuubi container, scowled. "I'm fine. I've never had anybody help me like that before, and I've always done fine before. Besides, I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm going to be Hokage!"

Ibiki chuckled. "Well, if you can take a beating like that and get back up, you might be able to pull that off. Don't get your hopes up though. Now stop moving while I make sure you aren't too injured."

Naruto muttered, but didn't move. Being a specialist in torture, a lot of people wouldn't have thought that Ibiki would know much about taking pain away. But for those that thought about it, it made sense. One of the best techniques for getting information was putting someone on death's door then bringing him or her back. And the best way to make sure you didn't inadvertently kill someone was to have a serious knowledge of anatomy. So while Ibiki wasn't going to be a medic-nin anytime soon, he knew how to fix someone up long enough to get them to someone who was able to really heal them.

"Okay, you're good to move around, but you'll want to get looked at after we get where we're going."

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked.

"To see the Hokage."

"The old man? I guess so."

Ibiki kept his normal face but inside he was laughing. He'd never seen anyone be so disrespectful to the Hokage, but this kid did it without thinking. He said it like he would call the Hokage that to his face. But no one was that dense.

--

"The Hokage will see you now," the chuunin outside the Sandaime's office said to Ibiki and Naruto, who were waiting after dropping off Naruto's attackers in some of Ibiki's cells. They entered the office to see the Hokage lighting his pipe with a minor Katon jutsu.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, what are you doing here? And with Ibiki-kun no less? You haven't been pulling pranks again, have you?" Though Sarutobi's words were chiding, he was smiling.

"Hey old man! Why do you always think I'm pulling pranks?"

Ibiki forced himself to keep from reacting. _The kid actually does call the most powerful person in Konoha 'old man'!_

"Perhaps because you are always pulling pranks?"

Naruto just laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

Ibiki was still running off his anger at the people who could do such a thing. "Hokage-sama, this is more serious than a simple prank."

"Yes, I thought it might have been when you brought him to see me. So what is the cause for this visit?"

"Hokage-sama, I was on my way home when I heard the sounds of a fight. When I went to investigate, I found Naruto here being beaten up by five villagers and a chuunin."

The Sandaime's face hardened. "Naruto-kun, is this true?"

"Well, I don't know if he was a chuunin, but I know one of them had a hitai-ate on his forehead. And I didn't prank them or anything! I was just trying to buy some food when the started chasing after me, calling me demon brat and stuff like that. But I don't want anyone to get into trouble because of me."

Sarutobi interrupted before Naruto could get to far into his apology rant. "Don't worry Naruto-kun, it wasn't anything you did. Any punishment they receive is entirely because of their own actions. But I think I need to talk to Ibiki-kun alone for a moment. Please wait out in the hall until I call you back in."

"Okay old man, but do you think we can go get some Ramen after this is done?"

Sarutobi chuckled. "We'll see Naruto-kun."

"Alright! Ramen here I come!"

Ibiki just stared at the door after it shut until the Hokage cleared his throat, bringing him back to the present. "What happened?"

"Like I said, I was going home, I was about to go in my window, and then I heard a fight. I found six people kicking the shit out of a seven year old, and then I stopped them."

"Just how did you stop them?"

"I didn't kill them if that's what you're asking. I knocked out two of the villagers, the chuunin, and got a good look at the other three. I would have tracked them down, but I was more concerned with the bloody lump at my feet. Much to my surprise, he wasn't a bloody lump, but already standing up and actually in pretty good shape for what had just happened to him. Now I know what he has sealed in him, but he shouldn't have to take a beating like that. He shouldn't be able to take a beating like that."

"I completely agree."

Ibiki scowled. "Than why does he?"

Sarutobi sighed. "I really wish the Hokage was as powerful as people think he is. But I can't change people's minds, and if I try to get to close to him personally, people will say the Kyuubi has corrupted me, and my resignation would be called for. Then I wouldn't be able to help him at all. So, I do what I can, and hope that people will overcome their feelings and see the boy as he is."

"I wouldn't count on that. People are going to be stupid no matter what you say or outlaw them from saying. They don't realize that if he really was the fox, they'd all be dead by now."

"I know. What did you do with the three you knocked out?"

"They're waiting for me in some of the holding cells. I'll deal with them in the morning. Does Naruto even know why he was being chased? He should know, if only to know why he's shunned. And you heard him; he didn't want anyone to get into trouble, even after they beat him up. I doubt he's going to go seeking revenge just because he knows why."

"I'm not sure that's the best idea, I wanted him to have a normal childhood."

"He took a six man beating and got back up like it was an everyday occurrence. That's not a normal childhood, no matter who you are. I'll do what you tell me, but I think he should know."

The Hokage sighed and stayed silent for a moment. "Bring Naruto-kun back in here, and I'll talk to him. But don't interrupt."

Ibiki nodded, and brought the energetic blonde back into the room. "Naruto-kun, I have something to tell you, but it may upset you."

"Alright old man, what is it?"

"Before I tell you, I want your word that you will try not to get to upset and listen to the entire story before you do anything."

"Is this really that big?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun."

"Okay, I'll try not to go nuts and I'll listen to the whole thing."

"What do you know of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and its defeat?"

Naruto quickly assumed his 'thinking pose', and gave the basic telling of how the Yondaime killed this demon fox at the cost of his own life.

"Yes, that is almost what happened."

Naruto scrunched up his face. "What do you mean?"

"The Kyuubi no Kitsune was the strongest demon in existence, the strongest of the Biju. Nothing could kill it, not even the Fourth Hokage."

"But the fox was beaten, and if it wasn't killed, what happened? Wouldn't it come back to finish us off?"

"I don't know. I don't know why the fox attacked us, and I doubt we ever will. But while the Fourth did defeat the Kyuubi, he wasn't able to kill it. Instead, he used a sealing technique that would trap the Kyuubi in a human vessel, protecting Konoha from harm. Unfortunately, the only way to keep the Kyuubi from destroying its vessel was to use a newborn baby, whose chakra pathways were not yet developed. That way, the body could use the demon's chakra and grow to adapt to it, instead of being killed by it."

"So why didn't we get told this? Why's it a big secret?"

"Because while the Yondaime wanted the Kyuubi's vessel to be seen as a hero for protecting the village from certain destruction, the villagers could only see the fox when they looked at the vessel. Someone who killed the Yondaime and their loved ones. So I was forced to create a law that prohibited anyone from speaking of what happened to anyone who didn't know the truth. I wanted the vessel to have a normal childhood. Unfortunately, I failed you in that aspect, Naruto-kun."

Naruto may be one of the densest people in the village, and certainly not one of the most intelligent, but he wasn't stupid. So with all the information given, his seven-year-old mind could only come up with one thing. "I'm the Kyuubi vessel, aren't I?" he asked in a small voice, one that was strange coming from the usually loud boy.

"I'm sorry that it was easier, but yes, you are the one who had the Kyuubi sealed into him."

Naruto sat in his thinking pose, looking rather rundown, as if the beating he had taken earlier was just now taking its toll. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke. "He had to do it, didn't he? Between one life or the entire village, he had to make the choice that he made."

"You're taking this much better than I thought you would be," Sarutobi said slowly, testing Naruto's reaction.

"What am I supposed to do about it now? There wasn't any other way to win, and he made the right choice for the village, which is what the Hokage is supposed to do. And since I'm going to be Hokage someday, I need to understand that. I don't like it, but he did what he had to do to protect his precious people."

The Hokage smiled. "I'm glad you understand. Now, you need to understand that what I've told you is a S-class secret, and it would be a bad thing if people found out. However, my law doesn't affect you, so anyone you want to tell you may, but I want you to know that you should be careful. You are not the demon, and you know this. However, some people do not see it that way, and those who you tell might not understand if you tell them. So you need to take caution."

"Okay. Can we go get some ramen now?"

Sarutobi laughed. "Unfortunately, I have a great deal of paperwork to finish. But if you asked nicely, perhaps you could persuade Ibiki-kun to take you."

Naruto immediately rounded to face the scarred man. "Please, please take me to get some ramen, I'll be good and Ichiraku's is so good and I'll even help pay and-"

Ibiki cut the small boy off. "Just shut up and come on." Ibiki would have rather just gone and gotten drunk to try to forget the ignorance of people in Konoha, but he had seen the Hokage's smile, and he knew he had no choice. Besides, he had the feeling the blonde would pester him until he said yes anyway.

--

"Hey old man, another bowl of pork ramen!"

Ibiki had been stunned and surprised more tonight than he had been than he had been for a long time. But the sheer amount of ramen this seven-year-old was simply astonishing. There was no place for the food to go, but Naruto simply kept eating. He didn't know how. Naruto was currently at eighteen bowls and counting.

"Alright kid, I think you've had enough." _Not to mention I don't have any more money._ "Let's get you home."

"Fine," Naruto mumbled, saying how he wanted more ramen.

"I'm not going to have you eat your way through my paycheck, even if you do want more ramen. Now let's go."

Ibiki and Naruto walked the short distance from Ichiraku's to his apartment, where Ibiki felt his anger rise at the state of it. "You mean the people you live with let their place get like this?"

Naruto looked around at his apartment, the only thing difference from how it was normally was that there was a new rock that sat amongst the shards of a freshly broken window. He picked up the rock and set it over with the others, not even bothering with the note on it. He looked back up at the scarred jounin. "Actually, this isn't that bad. The power's on at least. And what do you mean people I live with? You mean the people in the other apartments or something?"

"You live here by yourself?"

Naruto hesitated. "Uh, yeah. But I can take of myself."

Ibiki scowled. He wasn't normally this helpful to anyone, but quite frankly, not many people deserved help as much as this kid. And nobody deserved to live here. Hell, his interrogation cells were nicer than this apartment.

"Fuck it. Kid, grab some clothes for tomorrow, and come with me. I'm not going to have you living in a shithole like this one if I can help it."

Naruto stared at the large man blankly. "…Uh, okay."

Naruto grabbed a change of clothes, then the unlikely pair set out towards Ibiki's apartment.

--

Ibiki was definitely upset by the glares the villagers were giving the blonde beside him, only to advert their eyes when they saw whom he was with. Though some continued their arrogance, and looked at Ibiki with praise in their eyes, as if they thought Ibiki was taking him to one of his interrogation rooms. That simply disgusted him that people of his own village could think that way.

The thing that cut him the worst was that Naruto seemed used to it.

Hell, Naruto wasn't just used to it, he was moving like absolutely nothing was wrong or out of the ordinary, like this was something that happened to everyone.

Ibiki reigned in his killing intent; Naruto was looking at him funny. Sadistic torturer he may be, but he didn't like messing with kids like that.

"You said you wanted to be Hokage, right?" Ibiki asked. At Naruto's fervent nod, he continued. "Then you need to be a decent ninja first. Higurashi's is the best place in Konoha for equipment."

Naruto whooped and started to do a dance, but quickly followed after Ibiki when he wasn't being waited for.

After a few minutes of looking around, meaning Naruto was staring at all the weapons in awe, a shop clerk approached them.

"Ibiki-san, it's good to see you again. What can I do to help you?" Then the clerk noticed exactly who was with Ibiki and his face fell. It didn't turn into a sneer or grimace like some of the others Ibiki had seen that morning, but it definitely told him Naruto wasn't particularly welcome.

Ibiki saw this and immediately pulled him off to the side so Naruto wouldn't overhear them. "Um, Ibiki-san, is it truly wise to have him here?"

"Why? Is there something wrong with him that would cause a problem, Higurashi-san? He's no more trouble than any other seven-year-old. The worst he might do is pull a prank, and he knows not to do anything of the sort."

Higurashi held up his hands quickly. "I have no problem with the boy myself, but I have to look out for my family." Ibiki's scowl deepened. "No, no, not like that, it's just…you know this shop is my family's only source of income since I retired. While I don't see anything wrong with the boy, some of my customers might not see it that way, and I can't afford to lose too many. I'm looking out for my family's best interests."

"This is a shop for shinobi equipment. Which means the only people who need to be shopping here are shinobi. And if a shinobi can't get over stupid prejudices, I'm not sure I'd want to associate with them. Anyone with half a brain knows that boy is not the demon, and if he was, Konoha would have been destroyed ten times over for the crap he's been put through here."

Higurashi looked shocked. "What do you mean? I know some people don't like the boy, but it can't really have been that bad, could it?"

"Last night, he was getting beaten up by six people, and who knows what would have happened if I hadn't stopped them. Later that night, he was treating life like everything was normal and it was a common occurrence. With these people, it probably was. And besides, his dream is to become Hokage. I told him this was the best place for equipment in Konoha. I doubt he'll want to go anywhere else now. Not to mention your daughter seems to have taken a liking to him already." Ibiki nodded over to where Naruto and a girl with chocolate brown hair done up in buns on top of her head were talking.

"Hey, I'm Tenten, do you need some help?"

Naruto started at Tenten's voice, due mainly to not being used to people talking in a pleasant tone to him. "Um, yeah. Ibiki brought me here to get some stuff, but he didn't tell me what it was, so I kinda have to wait for him. He's over there talking with that guy."

Tenten smiled. "That's my dad. This is his shop, and it's got the best weapons anywhere! All the best ninjas shop here."

"Yeah, well, I'm not just going to be a ninja, I'm gonna be Hokage, the best ninja in the whole village!"

"You're a little short to be Hokage, aren't you?"

Naruto scowled. "I'm not short, and I am going to be Hokage. Nobody's going to stop me."

"Fine, but I'm going to be able to beat you. I'm going to be the best kunoichi ever. Just like Tsunade-sama."

"Who's she?"

Tenten's face went slack, in a dumbfounded expression. "What do you mean, who's she?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean? I don't know who she is and I was asking you to tell me so I would know. That's what I was asking."

"Tsunade-sama is only the best kunoichi alive, one of the Legendary Sannin, and the best medic-nin ever. She could probably take over for the Hokage when he retires."

"No she couldn't, because I'm going to be Hokage."

Tenten sighed, exasperated with the Hokage hopeful. "The Hokage's old, and you're still little. Even if you do become Hokage, she'll take over when the Sandaime retires. Maybe you could get it when she retires."

Naruto's face took on one of slow comprehension. "Yeah, and I'll get even better when she's Hokage!"

"…So, you want to be friends?"

"I guess so, but I've never had a friend before. What do we do?"

Before Naruto could learn exactly what friends do, Ibiki and Tenten's father wandered over. "So, I've been talking with Ibiki-san, and I understand you want to be a ninja. Best to start out early, I always say."

"Alright, I'd say he needs two sets of starter shuriken and kunai, blunted so he doesn't kill himself, and some weights would be good to. Build up his speed so he can get away from the shit he gets in."

Higurashi Satome nodded. "Tenten, can you go in the back and get the shuriken and kunai for me?" At her nod, he turned back to Ibiki. "So, do you want to have simple arm and leg weights, or did you want to go with a full weighted suit?"

Ibiki looked Naruto over. "Eh, go with both. Just little ones to start out with, but make sure you can add to them, he might get used to them pretty quick."

Satome shrugged. "Usually people go with one or the other, but if you're sure…" He walked off to get the correct weights.

--

After finishing up their shopping, it was getting late, so Ibiki took Naruto back to their apartment, told him to stay in there, and not open the door for anyone, including himself. He had a key to let himself in, whereas someone disguised as him wouldn't. Ibiki didn't really think anyone would be stupid enough to try to get into his apartment, but if there were, he wasn't going to let Naruto make it easier for someone using a basic **Henge**.

Once that was done, he headed towards the bar to get properly sloshed. He needed to forget the villager's reactions to Naruto.

--

While Ibiki was getting drunk, Naruto was sleeping, having a nice dream about him throwing his shuriken, defeating his enemies, being raised up as Hokage, and being hailed as a ramen god. As he stood in the Hokage's office, looking out over Konoha, the dream swirled. As the area around Naruto regained shape, he was standing in a dank hallway, pipes dripping, and a low rumble coming from the end of the hallway. Naruto took a tentative step forward, and jumped when he heard a voice speaking to him.

"**Hey brat, get down here."** Naruto slowly crept towards the voice, coming from the direction of the rumbling. **"Hurry up, I don't feel like waiting, you little ape-rat!"**

Naruto jumped again and rushed forward, emerging in a room that dwarfed him, making him feel truly small. There were bars separating the room, a large seal covering the center. But he froze at the sight of the gigantic red eyes, glowing in the darkness. Naruto knew what this was, the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Naruto felt the eyes concentrate on his body and there was blast of wind as the demon snorted in disgust. **"I still can't believe I got sealed in something so damn little."**

Blue eyes flashed as Naruto shook off his shock. "Hey, I'm not little! Take that back!"

A loud yapping sound filled the air, a sound Naruto took as laughter. **"You've got guts, I'll give you that, to talk back to the Lord of Demons like that. As for the little comment, I'm not going to take that back, it's the truth. Stupid human, before I ended up here, I was able to destroy a mountain with a single swipe of one of my tails. Compared to my former glory, you're tiny."**

Naruto didn't have a response to that, and settled for a scowl.

"What am I doing here?"

"**I needed to talk to you. And seeing as how you know about me now, now would be a good time. I would have done it sooner, but quite frankly, I didn't need you hearing voices and thinking you were crazy. If you were to do something like try to carve the voices out of your head, that would end up bad for the both of us. You die, I die. I don't want to die, so don't do something stupid and get yourself killed. Got that?"**

"I don't want to die either. But what do I get out of it?"

Kyuubi laughed again, harder than before. **"You know, you're one of the only humans ever to ask me for anything, and the only one stupid enough to do so in such a tone. But what do you get out of it? Stupidly large chakra reserves and increased healing, that's what. Maybe something else if you impress me. Don't count on it though. If not for me helping you out, you would have died several times over from the beatings those idiotic villagers give you."**

Naruto shuffled his feet before replying. "…Thank you," he muttered.

"**What?"** Kyuubi asked, actually sounding bewildered.

Naruto looked the demon fox directly in the eyes, his own glinting with determination. "I said, 'thank you'. If someone saves your life, you're supposed to thank them. Even if they're a bastard fox that got you in the trouble to begin with."

The room was silent, save for the constant growling that came from the red-eyed prisoner. **"…You're fucking confusing, brat."**

Eloquent as always, Naruto replied, "Huh?"

Kyuubi sighed, or at least that's what it sounded like to the blonde. **"…You're confusing as hell. No, no, hell's fairly straightforward. Lots of torture and pain. Bunch of fire. But you have the balls to insult me, yell at me, you don't fear me, at least not near as much as anyone with good sense, and then you turn around and thank me. You're confusing, even to someone who's lived as long as me. Well, if you can call being stuck behind a seal living."**

"I already said it. You saved my life, and that deserves a thank you, even if you did it just to keep yourself alive. You make my life hell, but it's not like you asked to be stuck in my belly. Yondaime did that. So he gets his share of the blame. As for me insulting you, you're touchy and deserved it anyway."

"**As loathe as I am to admit it, that attitude probably means we'll get on better than either one of us thought. Dammit."**

The two glared at each other before Naruto broke the silence. "I've got a question. Why did you attack Konoha?"

"**You know, the only other person to ask me that was your pops,"** Kyuubi said in a thoughtful tone.

"M-my dad?" Naruto choked out.

"**Yeah. That blonde prick that sealed me in here. Unsurprisingly, also the only other person to look at me like you do. Determination to the point of a death wish and very little fear. The reason is very simple. I was asked to."**

"Who would ask you to do that?"

"**The Kami. The Biju are incredible demons, but unlike other demons, we do cleanup work when shit goes bad. Though we probably wouldn't do it if not for the fact that Kami could beat all nine of us with his arms tied behind his back and blindfolded and still not break a sweat. Crazy person about to destroy the world? We get orders to go eat them. Everybody else passes it off as us just being demons. Happened a long time ago when you stupid humans got too advanced and power-obsessed for your own good, and all nine of us had to be called in. Took out damn near the whole race before we got called off."**

"What do you mean 'too advanced and power-obsessed'?"

"**I mean you stupid ape-rats creating shit that would kill everything on the planet with the push of a button, and threatening to use it over petty differences. And you wonder why demons hate you."**

"But why did that mean you were called in to attack us? Konoha doesn't have anything that could do anything like that."

"**Well, you finally seem to be using that little brain of yours. We get called in whenever something gets too big for you to deal with, or when one of you stupid ape-rats gets too close to breaking the natural order of things. Konoha had that in the shape of a snake bastard called Orochimaru. Got too close to immortality for comfort, so I was called in to stop him, considering this village is in my territory."**

"Orochimaru? I've heard villagers say things about him. But he's a missing nin now. He got chased out before you attacked."

"**I know that now. But Konoha was where the Kami told me to attack. So that's where I thought he was. Of course, after being sealed in you, I'm not sure that wasn't his plan all along. Maybe he's got something big planned for you. But when your shinobi started to attack me, that was more proof that you were hiding Orochimaru to keep him from killing him. As for eating the ones who attacked me, I was hungry."**

"So you were just doing your job when you attacked us?"

"**An absolute oversimplification of what was actually divine punishment, but yes."**

"So was there any other reason why you interrupted my dreams? I'd like to get back to them."

Kyuubi growled. **"Listen brat, I may be stuck in this cage, but I'll be damned if I let you talk like that for too long. I'm still a hell of a lot more powerful than you and can make your life hell."**

Naruto jumped up, interrupting the Biju's rant. "You already do, or don't you remember all the shit the villagers put me through? You make my life hell, and anything else you throw at me, I'll overcome it!"

"**Sit down!"** Kyuubi roared. **"Yes, your life sucks. Yes, people are mean to you. I'd like to do something about that, but I can't. So stop complaining and show me a little respect."**

"…You'd really do something about it if you could?"

"**I may be a demon, but I've got honor. More honor than most demons and definitely more than most humans. I don't like innocents getting hurt. And you, brat, are an innocent in this situation. You technically prevent the people of your village from dying every day, and you get shafted because of something that's not your fault. I don't like that."**

"You're weird."

"**What?"**

"You're weird. You bounce back and forth way too much."

"**I've been alive longer than you can comprehend. I've seen more than you will ever know. I have my own reasons why I am the way I am."**

"So are we done?"

"**I don't feel much like talking to you anymore, but there is something you should know. Don't bother trying to talk to me day to day. I don't need people thinking you're crazy talking to yourself. The only time we can communicate like this is when you're asleep, unconscious, or if you're specifically meditating to talk to me. Now get out."** And with a final snort, Naruto was blown out of the room, and awake, staring at the scarred man who had taken him in.

--

"Kid, wake up. We've got some stuff we need to do today," Ibiki said as Naruto blinked the sleep from his eyes.

"Whazzat?"

"Get up before I dump you out of the bed. I need to go into work today, and you need to get signed up for the academy." At that, Naruto started moving much faster. He definitely wanted to be in the academy.

After a short breakfast and walking across the village, Ibiki and Naruto were waiting in the sign-up line, some of the other parents throwing the blonde dirty looks.

Once they finally got up to the front of the line, and got Naruto's name on the list a young chuunin named Iruka was manning, it was later than Ibiki had planned on. But that didn't stop someone from calling out to him.

"Ibiki-san! I didn't know you had a kid." The scarred man turned and saw a familiar man with long blonde hair waving at him.

"Inoichi, didn't expect to see you here. Wasn't your kid going to own your flower shop?" Ibiki didn't hold anything against Inoichi for being in the flower business, it was part of his family, and hell, it was how he met his wife.

The blonde chuckled. "She is, but apparently she's also going to be the best kunoichi of her generation, if you can go by her words."

Ibiki smirked. "If we're going by what they say, I'm dealing with the future Hokage."

Inoichi smiled mischievously. "So who's the kid? I know you don't have a woman in your life, and even if you were able to hide that from me, there's no way you'd be able to hide the fact that you made a new addition to gene pool." Inoichi looked down at Naruto once more, taking in whom it was. Only a trained jounin such as Ibiki would have noticed the shift in Inoichi's face, but it was there. Then the blonde made a slight hand gesture that signified that he wanted to speak in private. Figuring it would be good to nip this in the bud, Ibiki went with him.

After Ibiki set up a personalized privacy jutsu, Inoichi opened his mouth, but Ibiki cut him off. "Before you say anything about He-Who-Is-In-His-Stomach, you need to get that out of your mind right now. Do you want to know how I met him?"

"Yes, I'd like to know what you're doing with the demon boy."

"You know, I thought you were smarter than that. He's not a demon boy. If he was as you say he is, we'd all be dead. Last night, I was going home, and I hear a fight. Not one to turn down a fight, I go looking, and I find the kid taking a six man beating. I put a stop to it, and then he got up and told me he had never had any help before, and that he was going to be Hokage. Then, once we were in the Hokage's office, he said that he was trying to buy some food when they started chasing him. After taking a six man beating, for no reason other than something he can't control, do you know what he said? He didn't want any of them to get into trouble because of what he did. Does that sound anything like what a demon would do in his spot?"

"…No," Inoichi admitted grudgingly.

"And tell me, if he really is as you say he is, would you say it's a good idea to treat him like shit? Because I don't think treating a demon like shit is a good way to stay alive."

"I know that…but every time I see him, I remember my brother and how he died in the attack, and I can't help but get angry," Inoichi protested.

"Both my parents and my little brother, the same way, but I don't blame him. Don't hate the jailor for the inmate's crimes. It's stupid, and petty, and I thought you were above it. Think it over, and talk to me later." With that, Ibiki released the jutsu and walked off with Naruto.

--

Naruto sat down in front of the Hokage, intent on telling him what he had talked about with Kyuubi the night before, but one question was plaguing his mind.

"Hey old man, what do you know about my parents?"

The man called the Professor looked up. "Why do you ask?"

"I, um, had an interesting conversation last night."

"With whom?"

"Please don't be mad. The Kyuubi."

Sarutobi's face hardened. "Is the seal weakening? Do you feel any different than normal? What did the Kyuubi say?"

"I don't think the seal's weakening, but I don't know what it would feel like if it was though. I don't feel any different, but I just got signed up for the ninja academy, so that's pretty cool. And Kyuubi was kind of rude and called me a bunch of names and told me why he attacked back then and that we were stuck together until I die and he wants to keep living so I better stay alive. But he also said that my dad was the Yondaime."

"I would like to check the seal after we're done talking, and it's good to hear that you got in. As for the Kyuubi, this is interesting. He really said that your father was the Yondaime?"

Naruto screwed his face up in concentration, a comical sight if there ever was one. "Well, he didn't come out and say it. I asked him why he attacked, and he said that the only other person who ever asked was my dad. Then I asked about my dad, and he said that it was 'that blonde prick that sealed me in here' or something like that. That's all he said about it."

"I'll look into this, and while it may explain a number of things, I don't want to get your hopes up."

"What things would it explain?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"Such as where Arashi got a baby at the last second. Why you look so much like the fourth at his age. You see, Yondaime was ready to make any sacrifice for his people, and this is something that he would have done. He would not have wanted to take another person's child over his own. He would not have wanted to do this to anyone, but if anyone, it would be with his own son. He would have believed you strong enough to continue on no matter the circumstances, just as he did. But again, I don't know if this is true. And for that, I am sorry. I do wish I could tell you more, if only to give you a little peace."

Naruto was silent for a long moment, and then he looked up. "I think I understand. He put his people first. That's what a Hokage needs to do."

"I'm glad you understand that now. If you are going to be Hokage as you say, it's a very important lesson."

"About the other thing…why Kyuubi attacked? Did you want to hear about that?"

Sandaime smiled. "Yes, I think I would appreciate that greatly."

"Well, even though Kyuubi was always throwing out insults, I don't think he was lying, so that's the only reason I'm telling you. He said he was doing his job. That whenever humans get too close to something that's truly forbidden or going to destroy the world or something, him and the other Biju go out and stop it for the Kami. He attacked Konoha because someone was getting too close to immortality, which is apparently a big no-no or something. Someone called Orochimary or something."

"Orochimaru?" Sarutobi clarified, his voice steel.

"Yeah, that was it."

"I see. Well, we'll just have to add that to the list of his crimes. Causing the near destruction of Konoha. He really is one of my greatest mistakes," the Hokage said, mostly to himself. "If there's not anything else, I have a great deal of paperwork, but I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

--

"I thought about what you said."

Ibiki looked up from his sake and saw Inoichi sitting next to him. "Two days? Here I thought you wouldn't be back before a week."

"Ha ha. I wanted to make sure I had everything straight in my head first."

"Nothing's straight in that head of yours. You've been screwloose forever. It's all that mind jumping you do."

"Was everything you said really true?"

"It's probably worse than I told you. For as loud as that kid is, it's hard to get him to open up about the things you want him to."

Inoichi put his hand over his heart in mock shock. "Morino Ibiki? The great interrogator? Bested by a child?"

Ibiki fixed him with a glare. "I want the kid to trust me. The only person he does even somewhat is Hokage-sama, and that's it. A seven year old shouldn't be that paranoid."

"Even if you're going to raise him?"

The interrogator scowled. "Don't even think about messing with me over this. You didn't see the shithole that kid was living in. The rats had sense to move out. He was happy the power was connected."

"I wasn't going to make fun of you. I was just saying that you aren't the definition of trusting either."

"Neither of us can be, but he's worse than me, and at seven. It's wrong, and it needs to stop. I intend to help."

"…I talked with Shikaku and Choza about it, and after they told me I was being an idiot for thinking the way I was, they said they were on your side. I'm not over my issues with him, but I'm working on it. And we'll help you with the kid when you need it. Kami knows you'll need it. You're not exactly the child-rearing type you know."

"Hmm. I thought they would kick your ass for thinking like that. Shikaku's too lazy to be troubled with thinking that way, and Choza's too easygoing. But it's appreciated."

"No problem. But I should probably get back. I don't want to think about what could happen if he got into my special stash."

"Porn?"

The glare sent Inoichi's way was enough to make the seasoned jounin flinch and lower his eyes.

"I keep my really fun toys at home. I don't trust the guys at work not to fuck them up, and I don't trust Anko not to overuse them."

Inoichi shuddered. "Um, yeah, getting home would probably be a good idea."

--

"Ibiki-kun, Naruto-kun, have a seat, please," the Hokage greeted with a smile. "I believe I have some information that may interest the both of you."

"What's that old man? Is it about my dad? You said you were going to look at it and see if there was anything that proved it," Naruto asked eagerly.

"I'm not completely sure. The Yondaime was a private individual, at least when it came to his own life. Very sociable, but very secretive as well. He had the ability to turn any conversation away from himself without you knowing it until later when you realized you didn't get any information. This was a good thing, with his numerous enemies, but it does make finding information about him that I didn't already know difficult. It may have taken me a month, but I found one of his scrolls recently, and I believe it is the solution to our problem."

"How do you know that?" Naruto asked.

"It has his seal on it."

"Oh."

"However, I don't know what it contains, simply for the fact that this seal acts not only as an identifying seal, but also as a blood seal. It appears to from around the time of the Kyuubi attack, but again, I cannot be sure."

"Okay. But if you don't know what's in it, how do you know you have information for us?"

"Do you know what a blood seal does?"

"I think so. Ibiki had one put on his box of toys so I can't get into them. He hasn't even let me see what's in it to know if I want to play with them or not. Meanie." Naruto stuck his tongue out at his guardian, who smiled back. Luckily, Naruto was mostly used to it by now. For those that weren't, one of Ibiki's smiles was a fairly frightening sight.

Sarutobi was trying to decide between disciplining Ibiki for keeping torture implements in his apartment and laughing at the fact that Naruto thought Ibiki had toys he was keeping from him. He settled on an impassive face that came from years of experience of suppressing reactions and continued on.

"Yes. A blood seal will only open for those people keyed to the seal and their family. This primarily used to protect clan secrets, however, I suppose it could be used to keep things from mischievous little ninjas."

"But I still don't see how that helps us know if the Yondaime is my dad or not."

Ibiki really hadn't thought Naruto was this dense. Sometimes he wasn't. Sometimes Naruto made incredible insights that people doing double takes simply to confirm who made the comment. Other times, he was like this; denser than people believed possible.

"He means that if your blood works on the seal, you're related to the Yondaime, regardless of the information inside."

"Oh. That makes sense. But, old man Hokage, why didn't you have this thing before? I thought everything Yondaime left was a great treasure or something."

Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Yes, well, do you remember what I said was the greatest bane of any Hokage?"

"I know this one…wait a minute…it was something stupid…paperwork! That was it! Paperwork." Naruto sat back in his seat, looking distinctly pleased with himself.

"At the time after the attack, Konoha was in a state of disrepair, and quite frankly, we were more concerned with the village. Paper got shuffled around, and records from the time are shaky at best. I think this scroll was simply mixed in with something else, and got lost among the archives. That's why it took me so long. Not to mention the Kazama clan was known for being rather unorganized."

"Oh. Okay. But when I become Hokage, I'm going to do something about that paperwork you keep complaining about. I don't know what yet, but I'm gonna fix it."

Sarutobi chuckled. "Naruto-kun, if you accomplished that and that alone, you would most certainly be the greatest Hokage. But back onto the topic at hand, all you need to do is smear a little blood over the seal."

"Alright." Naruto quickly bit his thumb, ran the blood over the scroll's seal. Nothing happened for a moment or two, save Naruto sucking the excess blood off his thumb, and then the seal glowed a faint blue before opening. "Hey, it worked."

"We saw that kid. But I'd say that confirmed it. You're the Yondaime's son. There isn't any way to fake that, is there?"

The Hokage drew a long breath from his pipe, blowing out slowing. "No. Not that I know of, and especially none that Naruto would be able to perform. To fool a blood seal would require copious preparation, prior knowledge, and most likely a seal master, and Naruto-kun had none of those. Naruto-kun is the Kazama heir. Now, if you would be so kind, can you tell us what is on the scroll?"

Naruto shrugged and started reading over it. "Um, I don't know what this is."

"May I see?" Naruto tossed the confusing scroll to the Hokage. "This is a storage scroll. But why would Arashi-kun put a blood seal on a basic storage scroll? Unseal," Sarutobi commanded, and in a puff of smoke, there were three tri-pronged kunai in the center of the scroll. Ibiki's eyes widened and the Sandaime smiled.

"What's so special about those? Their just some funky kunai, right?"

"No, not at all. These kunai were instrumental in a technique that gave the Yondaime most of his fame. These were the reason he was called the 'Yellow Flash of Konoha'."

"Whoa, cool," Naruto said, eyes now fixated on the weapons. "Do you think I could learn that jutsu? Huh?"

"Don't get too excited. I do not know the technique, nor do I have any scrolls that detail it. There may be something in the Kazama clan house, but other than that, the only other person who could even begin to help you would be my former student Jiraiya, and I'm not certain how much about it he knows. The only person to master that technique was Arashi-kun."

"Don't worry old man, I'll learn it, even if I have to teach it to myself."

The old man chuckled. "I wouldn't get ahead of yourself. Make sure that you know the basics beforehand. However, since it has been proven that you are part of the Kazama clan, there is one other topic we need to address. Living arrangements."

It took Ibiki a moment to realize exactly what the Hokage was getting at, but that was probably just because he didn't want to believe it. "…Hokage-sama, you can't be serious. My apartment is fine for the two of us, and that place is-"

"That place is a part of Naruto-kun's inheritance. I agree that your apartment is fine for now, but Naruto-kun is a growing boy, and needs a place to develop. Your apartment is not the best place for that. Not to mention, there will be more places to hide your…toys."

"What place are you two talking about? It's like you're trying to keep me out of the conversation or something," Naruto grumbled.

"No, we weren't trying to keep you out of the conversation. I was merely trying to convince Ibiki to let you move into the Kazama clan house. It is your inheritance, and probably more suitable for raising someone as rambunctious as you than a small apartment."

"Wait. I have a house?" Naruto questioned in disbelief.

The Hokage nodded.

"YATTA! I've got a house. Sorry Ibiki, but if you don't want to live there, I'm going on my own. I've got a house!"

"Kid, I'm not letting you live on your own."

"Then you're living with me at MY house! Hahaha!"

"But it's a piece of Konoha history. You can't just live there. It would be disrespectful."

"But it's mine, and I want to live there! Why can't I?"

Sarutobi interrupted before the argument could go too far. "I'm sorry Ibiki-kun, but Naruto-kun is right. It is his house, and he has every right to live there if he wishes. I would hope that you would go with him, if only to make sure he doesn't end up hurting himself, but you can't do anything to stop him."

Ibiki grumbled. "Fine. I'll live in the house, but I'm doing so under protest."

"Alright! When can we move in?" The elderly Hokage merely chuckled at Naruto's wide-eyed expression.

--

The Kazama clan house was far different from the other clan houses. For one thing, it wasn't in the noble district. The Uchiha's and the Hyuuga's had always looked down on them for this, but since Naruto was the only Kazama left, and they looked down on him anyway, he didn't care. Instead of the noble district, the house was in middle of the woods, closer to some of the training grounds than anything else. The dense woods surrounding it made it hard to find, unless you knew exactly where you were going. The dense woods also had Naruto's mind racing with the sheer number of pranks he could set up in defense of HIS home.

Another noticeable difference between Naruto's new abode and the other clan houses was the way it was set up. Whereas the Uchiha's had a small city sprawling to house their clan, and the Hyuuga's favored a complex of rigid buildings, unyielding to any change, the Kazama clan house was small. Granted, it was still a large building, enough so for fifteen people to live comfortably without doubling up, but it had nothing on the other clan houses of Konoha.

The area where the Kazama clan house excelled was the grounds. The Uchiha's kept building until they had a small city with no vegetation, and the Hyuuga's held immaculate grounds and gardens where you simply couldn't do anything for fear of disturbing something. However, the grounds where our hero now stood were perfect, at least in his mind. You could walk through them and be at one with the woods, you could hop through the branches in a never-ending game of nothing, or you could train to the point of exhaustion, whatever your desire.

But the one thing that put all other reasons to love the house to shame was simple in Naruto's mind. It was _his._ Being an orphan who held the hatred of the village, save a few, Naruto had very little things he could call his own. What he was able to call his own, he held in high regard. Most of the things he owned, he couldn't really call his own. His old apartment? Paid for by the Hokage. Most of his clothes? Same thing. But now he had something of his own, something that had been his _family's_, and no one was going to be able to take that away from him. He wouldn't let them.

As Naruto stepped into his house, he felt something he had never felt before. _He felt at home._ He had lived places before, but never felt like he could really relax and call it home. His apartment was barely fit to live in, and while Ibiki's place was a lot better, it wasn't home.

"So kid, what do you think?" Ibiki asked.

Naruto was speechless for once in his life, something that anyone who knew him would pay to see. "…it's incredible."

* * *

**As I forgot this at the top, I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does, and all those who are fans of the actual title character are all the sorrier for it. **

**This is my first foray into writing Naruto fiction. Please review!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Naruto soaked in his onsen, relaxing and thinking about how his life had changed over the years. It was certainly for the better, that was for sure. He had befriended the Nara and Akimichi children, and could be around Ino whenever she wasn't obsessing about Sasuke. While that wasn't a lot of the time, it was definitely more time than if he were trying to talk to Sakura. Not that he tried that often. Naruto had asked Sakura out once, and after a particularly violent refusal, Naruto stopped asking. He had enough people that wanted to hit him; he wasn't about to add another one. But Sakura couldn't seem to see that. After Naruto stopped asking, they seemed to get paired up a lot. Sakura thought Naruto was trying to get paired up with her on purpose, and ended up hitting him all the time. Needless to say, Naruto wasn't happy.

Naruto had even become friends with the Aburame heir, strange as it may have seemed to others. This wasn't to say that their friendship was entirely normal. It started during lunch one day at the academy. Shikamaru and Chouji were out with the flu, and Naruto didn't want to eat alone. He saw Shino sitting alone, and plopped down next to the Aburame. After a while of Naruto talking, and Shino sitting silent, Iruka called them back in, and Naruto thanked Shino for sitting with him and letting his talk. Shino nodded, and from that day forth, they were sitting together. Naruto talked incessantly, and Shino rarely said a word. Shikamaru and Chouji couldn't really explain it, but the two opposites were close.

In truth, Naruto was able to read Shino's moods better than anyone else at the academy after a while, and Shino was able to read Naruto's actual moods rather than the false front he so often put up, something even Ibiki had trouble with at times. After a year or so, Shino finally asked the question that had been plaguing him for some time. He wanted to know why his kikai bugs didn't like getting near Naruto. After some pestering (read, Shino looking at Naruto in silence and Naruto knowing that Shino really wanted to know, but wouldn't hold it against him if he never told him, just because he's a good friend), Naruto caved.

Shino sat in silence for a moment while Naruto started apologizing and stammering that he understood if Shino never wanted to see him again. Shino stopped him with a simple thank you and let Naruto know that he understood, using the kikai as his example. Just because there were kikai in his body, that didn't mean he was a kikai. After that, Shino didn't mention it anymore, and didn't act any different. Naruto was a better friend for it.

Naruto didn't get to see Tenten too often, but he made sure to stop by her family's weapon shop at least every other week. She kept on him to take up more weapons, but he knew he would never take up more than one or two, maybe three, outside of normal kunai and shuriken. She claimed that if he had more weapons, he'd always be prepared, no matter the situation. He claimed that if he had just a few, and trained against all of hers, he wouldn't need all of the weapons she carried. It was really just an argument carried on between friends for the sake of it. Both knew what they were going to do, and the other wasn't going to be convinced their way was wrong. Tenten was going to work with an absurd amount of weapons, and Naruto was going to do whatever the hell he needed to, damn the odds, and damn what he's supposed to be able to actually pull off.

Kiba and Naruto had a friendly rivalry with each other, or at least as friendly as things would ever get between them. They both respected the other's abilities, and if hard-pressed to give an honest answer, they'd say the other was a damn good ninja. By other than that, the two were completely content to glare at each other, insult each other, argue, and occasionally pull a prank together (hey, pranks take precedence over any argument).

Sasuke and Naruto had a not so friendly rivalry. It was easy to say that they despised each other. Sasuke was top in the class, and made sure everyone knew it. Brooding, stuck-up, had most everything handed to him on a sliver platter, couldn't get over his past, had almost every girl in the village hounding after him for it, and Naruto hated him for it. Sasuke just didn't like anyone.

Naruto could sympathize with having a bad past. Naruto could deal with Sasuke's revenge kick, to a point. Sasuke being the top of the class wasn't such a big deal, he _was_ talented. Stuck-up; he was an Uchiha, it was expected. Sasuke's fan club was a problem, but personally, Naruto thought a lot of them were scary, and at this point, was wondering if Sasuke was gay; the evidence was there, just look at his hair. The biggest problem was all of it combined; how he couldn't get over his past, or at least come to terms with it; how the teachers made sure the Uchiha got the most help, even though he rarely needed it; and how he disregarded everyone who wanted to help him. It was something Naruto couldn't understand, and so rivals they were.

After a good long while of arguing, insults, and psychological warfare, Kyuubi and Naruto were finally able to come to an understanding. Naruto would do his damnedest not to die or get too injured, and Kyuubi would help him by giving him chakra, helping with stamina, and sometimes giving him a little bit of knowledge from the Kyuubi's vast years. They still bickered like a married couple most of the time though.

Ibiki had been a good influence on Naruto. He was a good male role model, one that was there everyday, unlike the Hokage. Ibiki helped with Naruto's training and studies, but with the academy teachers sabotaging Naruto's work, it was hard. Ibiki would have done something, but the academy teachers were sneaky enough to not get caught by Naruto, and without proof, Naruto wouldn't say anything that could get him into trouble like that, know it would end up worse for him in the long run. When Naruto once claimed that he wanted to be just like his adopted older brother, Ibiki adamantly refused to teach Naruto the art of interrogation as he knew it. Naruto argued, and eventually, they came to an agreement. Ibiki wouldn't teach Naruto the physical aspect; he did end up educating the jinchuuriki on human psychology. Ibiki claimed this was more effective than physical torture when used properly. However, Naruto was still one of the most clueless people in all the Shinobi Villages when it came to the opposite sex. Ibiki also proved to be a horrible cook, only being able to do breakfast reasonably well, and that was still taking chances, so Naruto learned to cook fairly well.

Naruto eventually figured out exactly what Ibiki meant by his 'toys', but still pestered the scarred man about it because he knew it annoyed him.

Another person Naruto had gotten close to was Mitarashi Anko. They had argued at first, when they had met at the Hokage Tower. Several arguments and physical altercations later, they came to a topic they could agree on, Orochimaru. Anko wanted to kill him for abandoning her, and when Ibiki okayed it, Naruto told her his reasons for wanted to kill the snake bastard. As Naruto's story went on, Anko found she hated her old sensei more. It was one thing to bring pain to an individual, but he was the reason for the Kyuubi attack, and that was something that was truly beyond the pale. They kept talking and grew closer. After she was kicked out of her apartment for assaulting the manager, Naruto convinced her to come live with him. She agreed, just until she found her own place again. When she realized Naruto wasn't going to kick her out, she stopped looking for a new apartment. Now they were more like a dysfunctional brother and sister than anything else.

The academy was not the best place for Naruto. The part that made sure Naruto always went (other than Ibiki threatening him) was that he could see his friends. Excluding them and Iruka, there weren't many people who wanted him at the academy. The teachers covertly switched tests on him, berated him for things that would have garnered praise from a decent teacher, and actively made fun of him. Granted, it was difficult to keep his interest for some of the more academic pursuits, but if anyone really bothered to look, they would see him as the exceptional shinobi he was becoming. Already he was able evade all the chuunin squads sent after him, and most of the ANBU squads. If Naruto were anyone else, he would have been lauded as the next great shinobi of the village, counted among those like the Professor, the Sannin, and the Yellow Flash. Instead, they tried everything they could to make sure he would die on his first mission out.

After speaking with Shikamaru, they decided to do something about it. Shikamaru didn't know why everyone seemed to hate Naruto, but if they wanted to make sure he failed, why not oblige them? Naruto was against the idea at first, but eventually agreed. The two would stay at the bottom of the class as best as possible, and still keep passing grades. Shikamaru was lazy and just didn't want to do the work, and the teachers left Naruto alone more when he was doing poorly than when he was doing his best, so the plan was put into motion. Naruto had trouble going along with it at first, but when Shikamaru pointed out that if people were thinking they were fighting the dead last; they wouldn't expect to be fighting someone much better than that. Naruto's protests stopped soon after that.

Naruto's full strength was something that Shikamaru didn't know. Naruto had broken into the Kazama clan jutsu vault, and started reading. After a few chakra control scrolls (which had Naruto cursing profusely before he mastered them), he came across a scroll for **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. While also on the Forbidden Scroll of the village, it was originally created by a Kazama. Unfortunately for Naruto, a lot scrolls were locked up with seals that would prevent him from accessing him until he was able to gain a better understanding of seals than he had, or was able to prove he was the proper rank in the village. He was just happy the Kazama weren't known for the organizational skills and **Kage Bunshin** and a few other upper rank techniques were misfiled.

Naruto hadn't really changed much over the years. He had gotten stronger, a little more mature, had become accepted by a few of the clans in the village, but he was still Naruto at heart. He played pranks as often as possible, ate as much ramen as he could (and with Ibiki's cooking, they spent quite a few meals at Ichiraku's), called the Hokage 'old man', was the shortest person in his academy class (and rather sensitive about it too), and proclaimed he would become Hokage. He still wore his orange jumpsuit (no matter how often Ibiki tried to get it away from him), thought he had a weight suit underneath it and a trench coat reminiscent of Ibiki's now.

All in all, life had been pretty good to Naruto over the years.

Little did he know that he most life changing moment was yet to come.

--

Naruto snapped his eyes open, sitting in the middle of a training field, just after dusk. He had been meditating to talk to Kyuubi. The Demon Lord had decided that Naruto had earned another lesson, and so Naruto was out in one of the remote training areas where no one would bother him while he was in his mind. But when Naruto opened his eyes, there was someone there.

There was a woman with long blue hair and a black cloak with red clouds standing in front of him. "Hello Naruto-kun. You need to come with me. My organization needs you."

Naruto snorted. "Yeah right! I'm not going with you, I don't even know you. Go away, I need to train."

The woman with blue hair shook her head. "I'm afraid you don't understand. It wasn't a request. You will come with me right now."

"No. I don't want to. Now leave me alone."

The blue haired nin stood still for a moment before launching herself straight for Naruto. Before the blonde could react, the nin's fingers were glowing and slammed directly over the seal on his stomach.

Pain.

That's the only word to describe it. Pure, unadulterated pain. Naruto felt as if his skeleton shattered all at once as his skin melted off. It only lasted for a second, but the agony felt like days.

Darkness.

"**Brat! Get up and listen to me! Whatever that bastard just did screwed us up! The seal's weakening, and we need to do something to stop it!"**

"…What are you talking about?"

"**If you don't listen to me and do exactly as I say, we're both going to die! And the resulting chakra explosion's going to take out your whole damn village! We need to move! You're going to wake up in a minute or two, and you need to write a note to that old man leading your village so we don't have people chasing after us. Whatever that bitch did to us sent out a massive chakra wave, and once people stop being scared out of their wits, they'll be investigating what's going on. What I have planned can't have people around us. We're just lucky whatever that girl did to us backfired and killed her so we don't have to worry about that. And to ease your fears, I'm not asking you to release me. Now wake up and move!"**

--

Sarutobi landed in the clearing, clad in his full battle gear, flanked by three ANBU squads. In the center of the clearing, there lay a smoking body and a scroll. The wave of chakra had disappeared as quickly as it came, and Sarutobi wanted to know what the hell happened.

Sarutobi advanced first; making sure the body was exactly that, a body, and not a trap. That confirmed; he turned his attention to the scroll. It looked hastily rolled, and was marked with 'HEY OLD MAN' in Naruto's even hastier scrawl. Chuckling, Sarutobi checked it for all the traps he could, and finding none, opened it.

_Old man-_

_I took this scroll off the dead guy and I don't have a lot of time, cause if I don't leave soon, I'm gonna die. The blue haired bastard messed up something with the seal, and Kyuubi says that he has a plan to fix it. It's not to release him, cause that would kill us both or something. But if I don't leave, we'll both die, and we might end up destroying the whole village. So, I'm going somewhere else to do what needs to be done to protect everyone, and you shouldn't send anyone after me. And you can't send any hunter-nin after me, since I'm not a ninja yet. Ha! I'll be back for my Genin exam. Bye!_

_Naruto_

_P.S. If it helps, the girl said her 'organization' needed me for something._

"Hokage-sama, what are our orders?"

Sarutobi sighed. "Collect any evidence you can that tells us what happened here. Bring the body back to the tower, we'll have our experts look at it."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

--

Sarutobi steeled himself as he called in the two people he knew would take the previous night's events the hardest. Ibiki and Anko walked in, their faces flickering between irritation, anger, and worry.

"Is this about my otouto? He didn't come back last night from where he was training. If those damn villagers did anything to him, I'll kill them," Anko ranted. "No, I won't kill them. I'll take them, and put them in the Forest of Death for a few weeks, and then I'll kill them. Maybe I'll-"

Sarutobi held up a hand. "Anko-chan, this does have to do with Naruto-kun, but as far as I know, the villagers had nothing to do with it. Last night, Naruto-kun was attacked by an unknown nin. Apparently, this person did something that corrupted the Fourth's seal. This resulted in the chakra wave that we all felt last night. Naruto-kun left so he could attempt to fix the seal. He left a scroll explaining what was happening."

Before Sarutobi could continue, and before Anko could get any angrier, they felt a chakra explosion from the north. Unlike a normal chakra explosion, that exploded and faded away, this one kept building in strength. It was easily recognized as the Kyuubi's chakra, everyone who was alive for the attack remembered it well. It grew to the point where even the most experienced and hardened of shinobi were staggering and shaking under its weight. And as it came to the point where people thought they were going to die from the sheer force, it disappeared. It didn't fade from existence; it simply wasn't there anymore.

ANBU were in the Hokage's office immediately, waiting for orders. Anko knew better than to interrupt, Sarutobi was in his 'command mode'.

"I will be going with you to investigate what just happened. Three units will be going with me, as well as Anko and Ibiki. We leave in fifteen minutes. Go!"

--

Sarutobi, Anko, and Ibiki weren't at all reassured when all they found at the epicenter of the chakra explosion was scorched earth and a few tracks leading away before disappearing completely.

--

Sarutobi walked into his office early in the morning, as was his custom. As he entered, he stopped short and a kunai found its way to his hand. And for good reason. There was a rather large fox with a bag around its neck sitting on his desk.

"Please do not attack me, Hokage-sama," the fox requested in a pleasant tone. "I bring word from Naruto-sama." The fox then poked his nose around the bag that was thrown over his neck. A moment later, he pulled out a scroll and placed it on the desk. "Naruto-sama wishes for you to know that he plans to write in another month or so." The fox bowed his head and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_Hey old man—_

_I know you're probably pretty angry with me for taking off like I did, but it needed to be done, and it's worked out in the end. I'm fine for now, and I'm training my butt off to make sure I pass the Genin Exam in a couple of months. I'm not going to tell you what happened a month and a half ago, because you probably won't believe me, and if this gets intercepted (and I don't think it will), I don't want it read by the wrong person. Just know that I'm fine and will be back in a few months. I just need to make sure I have a few things under control before I come back, because I don't want anybody freaking out. And you should probably tell Tenten, Shikamaru, and Chouji about my fuzzy little secret. I don't know how well I'll be able to hide it from them, and they deserve to know anyway. You should probably let Ino know too. She may be loud and obnoxious, but she is there for you when you need it. Just make sure she knows how important it is for her not to tell anyone, because otherwise it'll be all over the village. Not like most of the villagers don't know anyway. And get Shino to help you tell them. He found out a while ago, and it'll probably be good for them to hear someone their age knows and doesn't care. Tell Anko-nee-chan and Ibiki-aniki that I'm doing good and that they shouldn't worry. I know they are, but they don't have to, so they shouldn't. Make sure you don't run my village into the ground while I'm gone!_

_Naruto, the future Hokage and greatest shinobi ever_

Sarutobi read the scroll several times before setting it down on his desk, leaning back in his chair, taking a long draw on his pipe, and sighing deeply.

'_Naruto-kun, what are we ever going to do with you? You make my day when I hear from you, and make it so much harder at the same time.'_

--

Sarutobi thought the meeting with Naruto's friends went better than expected. Shikamaru had already had suspicions, and Chouji didn't much care. Naruto was Naruto, in his book. Unless something happened to change that, he wasn't about to stop hanging out with him. Tenten thought about it for a while, and while she wasn't completely okay with the thought, especially since someone she trusted had kept something like that from her for so long, she wasn't going to discriminate against him. Naruto hadn't done anything to misplace her trust (other than run off and not tell her about the Kyuubi, but she could beat him up for that later). Ino was the worst though. She freaked out when she heard, and it took nearly five minutes to get her calmed down.

Shino was a big help, as Naruto predicted. He picked up a glass of water, and asked Ino if the glass was water, or just the container. After getting over the initial shock of hearing Shino actually speak more than three words, and a little more reasoning, Ino was fairly well convinced that Naruto wasn't about to go on a rampage through the village.

However, after this, he told them all some of what Naruto had had to endure over the years, and they were less than happy about the stories they heard. Ino and Tenten were by far the most outraged; Chouji was wearing an expression they had only seen when someone insulted his weight; and even Shikamaru had abandoned his lazy expression for one of annoyance and determination (he would have been outraged as well, but that would have been too troublesome).

Shino once again proved his worth for being there by telling them all that it would do no good to get upset. The villagers weren't going to change their minds just because a bunch of children (this earned death glares from both kunoichi, but Shino didn't seem to notice) got upset with them. It would be better if they did their best to make sure Naruto was seen in the best light possible, and to help him achieve his dream. When Ino scoffed at Naruto becoming Hokage, Shino fixed her with a glare. He said that Naruto had the sheer determination necessary to become the leader of the village, and obviously loved the village, proved by the fact that he hadn't gone nuts and tried to kill everyone yet. If there was anyone worth being Hokage, Naruto was it. Everyone had their own reasons for becoming ninjas, but Naruto's was the one that a Hokage needed, to protect those that couldn't protect themselves. After hearing Shino talk so much, everyone calmed down, vowed to help Naruto, and silently promised slow and lingering deaths to those who spoke ill of Naruto in their presence.

--

Anko and Ibiki didn't take the news that Naruto was staying away from the village for several more months too well. Sarutobi felt sorry for the people they were interrogating.

--

Another month and a half later, Sarutobi found himself in a similar situation, kunai in hand, and fox on desk.

"Are you going to threaten me with a kunai every time I deliver a message, Hokage-sama?" the fox asked in the same pleasant and respectful tone, and giving Sarutobi the impression that the fox was grinning just like Naruto. "I once more bring you news from Naruto-sama."

After rummaging around in his bag for moment, the messenger fox placed a scroll on the desk, gave a respectful bow of its head, and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sarutobi sighed and made his way over to his desk, wondering what kind of headache Naruto was going to give him this time. He loved the blonde, but he really could be trouble sometimes.

_Hey old man—_

_Figured I'd write and tell you what I've been up to out here. Training has been taking up most of my time, and I keep moving around, seeing if I can help out with things to earn some money so I don't end up going hungry. I've gotten really good at some of the stuff. Some of the places have even enlisted my help with breaking up bandit camps. And I've just met up with these two really strong nins who I've convinced to train me for a while. I'm still going to be back to Konoha for the Genin exam, but I'm not going to pass up this chance to learn a bunch of new jutsu. I'm having a lot of fun, so you really don't need to worry. Tell everyone who still wants to be around me that I miss them and I'll be back in a couple months._

_Naruto, future Hokage_

Sarutobi sent for Naruto's friends and family, upset that Naruto had such little faith in his friends that he believed they would abandon him, glad that Naruto hadn't given him anything to worry about in this message, and only slightly concerned about the two nins Naruto mentioned training him. After all, Sarutobi trusted Naruto's judgment, and if Naruto trusted them, he would have to as well. It wasn't as if he had any hints on the Naruto's location.

--

Two months later, and Sarutobi was actually able to control himself from bringing a kunai to his hand when he saw the messenger fox sitting on his desk. Once again, the fox gave him a scroll and left before Sarutobi had a chance to ask the fox how it managed to get inside the tower.

_Hey old man—_

_I've had to split up with the people I was training with, so I'll be heading back to Konoha now. I'm a lot stronger and you won't believe some of the stuff I've learned. Anyway, I should be back in the village in three weeks or so, and that leaves plenty of time before my exam in case I get held up with something. See you then, and Kami help you if you've messed up anything in my village for when I take over._

_Naruto, future Hokage_

'_I don't know what he's talking about with plenty of time, he's only allowing a week grace period. It will be good to have the blonde bundle of energy back in the village again though.'_

--

A month later, and Sarutobi was wondering where Naruto was. He said three weeks, and had claimed he would be back in time for the exam, but it was the day the academy class supposed to test, and so far, there had been no sign of Naruto. Sarutobi exited his house and sweat dropped. Naruto was back.

The Hokage monument was painted (fairly well) with various designs, swirls, and mocking signs. The Shodai and Nidaime's faces were the most lurid faces, covered in the most designs. The paint job done to his face made him look a lot younger, and it also made him look like pervert, with dual nose bleeds and proclamations of 'ero-jiji' and 'hentai'. The Yondaime's face was actually fairly respectful, though the overall paint job made it look like the Fourth was a woman. Seeing the sight after six months of no Uzumaki style pranks, Sarutobi laughed out loud.

"I jut wonder if he can still outrun the ANBU patrols like he used to be able to," the Hokage muttered as he started off towards his office.

--

Sarutobi walked up to his office, and was greeted by a sight he honestly hadn't expected. Naruto was standing there without any ANBU patrols guarding him, meaning he hadn't been caught by them, but was instead flanked by a silver fox, a pig wearing a red vest and pearl necklace, Tsunade, and Shizune.

"Well, Naruto-kun, you do know how to announce your return. It's good to see you haven't lost your touch. Tsunade, Shizune-chan, welcome back to Konoha. Why don't we go inside to catch up?" Sarutobi didn't wait for their responses, just walked into his office, knowing they would follow.

As they sat down, Sarutobi pulled six seal covered slips of paper, channeled chakra into them, and one flew to each of the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. "Okay, now we can talk about what exactly happened over the past few months without any chance of being overheard. I'm expecting an interesting story, Naruto-kun, after all, no normal circumstance could get my most attractive student to return."

Tsunade scowled, but Naruto started talking before the Slug Sannin could say anything. "Well, it started when that guy in the stupid looking cloak messed up the seal. I still don't know what he wanted, but Fuzzy thinks it has something to do with him. Anyway, I had to do a ritual with Fuzzy that would keep us from dying, and it's a good thing that I got so far away from Konoha before I did it, cause it took out everything for a kilometer around."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, I know. A team headed by myself was dispatched to see just what caused the explosion of chakra that we felt here. Would you mind telling me just what the effects of this ritual were?"

"Well, you may not like it, but I promise I have everything under control. Remember that I have everything under control." Naruto took a deep breath and continued.

"The seal had been weakened where it wouldn't hold Fuzzy, and if it broke, we'd both die. So what we had to do was get close enough together for the seal to bind Fuzzy properly again. What that means is that we're basically bonded together now. We're separate, but the same at the same time, if that makes any sense. And there's no real way to separate us. Even some of the methods Kyuubi thought of that would allow him to live and just kill me won't work. They'd end up killing us both."

"Who am I talking to right now, Naruto or Kyuubi?" asked Sarutobi, covertly gripping a kunai under the desk.

Naruto frowned. "Now that's just rude old man, it's Naruto. Fuzzy doesn't get anytime outside unless I summon him. And even if Fuzzy were here, he wouldn't be trying to destroy Konoha like you think. He says that only humans keep grudges for that long. Demons get mad, fight, and get over it. Humans are a lot more foolish."

"You say that as if you aren't human anymore," Sarutobi said tightly.

"Wellllll…that was another one of the things that happened because of the ritual. Don't freak out. Please. Baa-chan did, and she hits really hard." As if a demonstration, Tsunade smacked Naruto in the back of the head.

"I've told you not to call me that, brat!"

As Naruto picked himself up off the floor, he sent a glare at Tsunade, but contained himself and didn't yell at her like he wanted. Instead, he placed his hands in a seal and pleaded with Sarutobi once more, "Don't freak out. Release!"

As the large puff of smoke cleared, Sarutobi's grip on his kunai tightened, but he didn't throw it, just because he trusted Naruto, and if Tsunade had seen it and wasn't trying to keep Naruto from doing it, things couldn't be too bad.

Where Naruto had been standing, there now stood a person that was Naruto's height and build, and held many similarities to Naruto, but wasn't quite Naruto. The new Naruto had Naruto's blonde hair, but there were also several silver streaks running through the hair. Two silver fox ears twitched atop Naruto's head, the very tips a familiar blonde color. Blue eyes veined with silver held slit pupils, and familiar whisker marks were much longer and deeper, reaching the very edges of Naruto's face. Elongated canines poked at his lips, and claws were the only way to describe Naruto's fingers. But the biggest surprise was what was behind him. Three swaying, flowing tails, silver and tipped with orange tinted blonde, grew from the base of Naruto's back.

Naruto held up two clawed hands in a defensive gesture. "Hold on there, it's still me. Actually, it's more me than before. This is what I really look like now. I was using a Demonic Illusion, one you can only see through if you have some demonic chakra going through your coils. Course keeping it up all the time is kind of tiring, but when I take it down, I'm a lot stronger cause I'm not suppressing the youki or my hanyou chakra anymore. When the ritual bonded Fuzzy and me, it flooded my chakra system with demon chakra. Because the seal had already adapted my body to accepting and using youki, I didn't die. Instead, I became this, a Hanyou, a half-demon fox. And like I said, I'm a lot stronger in this form because I don't have to worry about keeping up the illusion all the time. But don't worry; I'm in complete control. Like I said, Fuzzy doesn't have any time outside unless I summon him."

"And how would you summon him?"

"Well, I suppose like any other summon. I am the holder of the Kitsune contract after all, and Fuzzy is the Boss Kitsune. Of course, since Fuzzy is also a Demon Lord and not just a summon boss; he keeps some of his old tricks. And part of the deal I have with him is that I let him out to have a night on the town every once in a while."

Sarutobi couldn't control his confusion as it blossomed on his face. "Just how can a gigantic nine tailed fox demon have a night on the town? Wouldn't people run screaming?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Well yeah, but he doesn't go to town as a giant fox. I told you he kept some of his old tricks, and being able to change his size and assume human shape is just two of them. Really old man, you need to think sometimes."

Tsunade laughed, but Shizune looked upset that Naruto would speak to the leader of the village in such a way. "You know, even if the brat didn't get me to come back, I would have come back just to see him talk to you like that. Priceless!"

Sarutobi looked annoyed, but directed the conversation where he wanted. "And just how did Naruto convince you to come back?"

Tsunade's face darkened and a scowl blossomed as she muttered something about 'lucky brats' and 'tricking people'. Naruto just laughed.

"Okay, I'll tell it, because you'll just make me sound mean if you do Baa-chan." After picking himself up from the floor again, Naruto continued. "Well, you see, I'd been training for a couple months and I was ready to come back here, when fuzzy suggested we take a detour to one of his old dens that was nearby. It wasn't going to take me too far out of the way, and there was a bunch of stuff in there that was really cool, I'm going to have to go back for some more of it soon. I could only get so much. But anyway, once I was coming back from there, I stopped in this town. I had enough for a hotel, and I was really glad cause I was getting tired of sleeping in the woods every night. But anyway, Gintoku here," Naruto rubbed the silver fox's head fondly, "got away from me. He ran me all over town before I finally caught up with him…"

_**Flashback**_

"Hey, get out of here you stupid fox! Leave Tonton alone!"

Naruto stumbled around a corner and saw the situation his companion had gotten himself in. "Hey, leave Gintoku alone!" Naruto dutifully marched towards his fox friend and snatched him away from the black-haired woman before placing him on the ground and glaring.

"What did you think you were doing? Huh? It's one thing in the woods, but in town you know you aren't supposed to run off! People aren't near as forgiving as you think!"

The fox yipped and whined for a minute before Naruto interrupted.

"I don't care if you were just having a little fun, it's dangerous! I don't want anything to happen to you, and it will if you run off. Especially if we were in Konoha. People there don't like foxes, and if you were to go running around there, there's no telling what would happen."

Another moment of yips and whines.

"I agree the pig smells good, but that doesn't mean you can try to make it dinner!" Tonton looked alarmed and squealed. "The pig is obviously someone's pet. How would you like it if someone tried to eat you, huh? You wouldn't like it would you? And besides, you had a rabbit not two hours ago. I spoil you rotten, I swear I do!" Naruto turned to face the two women that were watching his strange conversation. "I'm sorry about that. He got away from me. I would have caught him sooner if I hadn't just upped my weights. But that doesn't excuse him from trying to get at your pig. He knows better than that. Doesn't he?" Naruto added with a glare, and Gintoku placed his head between his paws and looked properly shameful.

_**Present**_

"Anyway, after that, we introduced ourselves, and I asked if Baa-chan could train me. She blew me off. I got mad, and challenged her to a fight."

Sarutobi shook his head. "Naruto-kun, you really do get yourself into some bad situations, don't you?"

Naruto looked insulted. "Who ever said that it was a bad situation? Baa-chan had already had a bunch to drink, and said she could beat me with one finger. So we made a bet. If I could get her to use more than one finger, she would have to teach me something."

_**Flashback**_

Tsunade and Naruto stood on either end of a street, Shizune looking on, worried. Tsunade taunted Naruto, and Naruto charged her. Not his smartest idea ever. Tsunade parried his punches with one finger, and flicked him in forehead, sending careening down the street, smashing into a wall. Tsunade brushed her hands off and gave a self-satisfied smirk to Shizune. Then Naruto crawled out of the dust and loose stones, cursing.

"Looks like I'm going to have to take this serious. Count yourself lucky, Baa-chan."

Tsunade growled at the new nickname as Naruto charged again. Just as she was about to flick him into oblivion, he puffed into smoke, leaving a rock with an explosive note in his place. The med-nin her hands up to cover her face just in time.

As Tsunade was recovering from the explosion, Naruto shot in with a punch, and landed it right in the gut. As a reflex, Tsunade batted her opponent away with a smack. As Naruto rose from his position against the wall this time, he was laughing and holding the new lump on his head as he stemmed the flow of blood from his lip.

"Haha, I win!"

"What are you talking about, win? You're going to be dead by the time I get done with you, brat!" Tsunade ranted, sobering up, wanting to hurt the other blonde.

"I win, Baa-chan. You said you would only use one finger to beat me, and you just hit me with your whole hand. You would have demolished me if we were really fighting, but you're a Sannin and I'm not even a Genin yet. If you couldn't beat me, there's something wrong. But I just had to get you to use more than one finger, and I did, so now you have to teach me something!" As he finished, he started to do a little victory dance, and everyone sweat dropped.

_**Present**_

"And just what did you teach him, Tsunade?"

"He's got some pretty good chakra control, but he doesn't have the control necessary for medical jutsu, and he never will, what with the violent nature of the youki. Not to mention youki simply won't convert into medical chakra, even if he did have the control necessary. So instead, I taught him my most famous original taijutsu move."

Sarutobi looked horrified. "You didn't! You mean you taught him…"

Tsunade's smirk grew till it threatened to take over her face. "Yes. I taught him the Thousand Years of Pain. And I was impressed. He used a kunai and explosive tag, last time I saw him practicing it."

"Hey! Don't go giving away all my secrets. I need to beat this guy to take his job someday."

"Well, that makes some sense, but it still doesn't explain exactly why you came back, Tsunade. Not that I'm complaining, of course. It's always good to see you."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, she doesn't like this part of the story. In order to save face, she made me another bet, and I won that one too. That led to another series of bets, that led to me winning her grandfather's necklace, training until I become a chuunin, and her coming back here to rearrange the hospital. Though she kinda wanted to do that herself when I told her about how they treated me. Started grumbling about how medics are supposed to keep personal bias out of things."

"And just what were these bets?" asked Sarutobi, genuinely curious.

Tsunade glared. "Don't ask. I'm not going to tell you. And neither will the brat, if he knows what's good for him. But know that I'm going over to the hospital when I'm done here, and if what I see isn't up to my standards, you may be out a few doctors."

Sarutobi gulped. He didn't want to get in the way of Tsunade on a rampage. He wasn't that foolhardy. "Very well. Naruto-kun, I'd like more information on your travels later on, but for now, I believe you have a Genin exam to go take?"

The blonde nodded, set up his illusion again, collected Gintoku, and ran from the office.

Sarutobi made sure the privacy seals were still working before asking his next question. "So, what was the real reason you came back?"

Tsunade sighed. "Truthfully, sensei, he gave me my soul back. He helped me get over Dan and Nawaki's deaths, or at least work past it. He's apparently broken the curse on that necklace of mine, and he's gotten me to have a little respect for the Hokage title again. Not much, but more than there was before. And if what I heard about your hospital in Naruto's stories was true, we will be having problems. I don't care what your personal problems are, you don't let it come between you and healing someone, especially someone as innocent as him."

Tsunade sighed. "I was planning on leaving, even on the way back here. But we were ambushed by a bunch of bandits. Nothing we couldn't handle, but there were a lot of them all the same. We had taken down almost all of them, and Naruto saw one of the ones we thought was down sneaking up on Shizune. Naruto shot across the fight and stuck a kunai right in the guy's throat. I think it was the first time he really had to kill someone. He mentioned the woman who messed up his seal to me, but that was an accident, and he didn't really see it happen. Add to the fact that he had bigger problems at the moment; I don't think it ever really connected.

"But this guy, he was right there, and he killed to protect someone, but he still stuck a kunai in the man's carotid artery. You can't get much more personal than that. The rest of the bandits went down easy, but Naruto just stood there, shocked still, slowly being covered in the bandit's blood. But I pushed past that," Tsunade explained, seeing her sensei about to ask a question, "and comforted the little brat. It was then I knew I couldn't abandon him to these damn villagers."

Sarutobi nodded understandingly. "Naruto does have that effect on people. He cracked both Ibiki-kun and Anko-chan. They're all practically family now."

"Well he better have an extra room in that house of his he was bragging about. I remember it from when Arashi had us over, and I'm not abandoning him."

Shizune just smiled warmly, glad that her mentor was home once more.

--

Naruto tore through the village, pushing chakra into his legs, appearing to be nothing more than a blur except to Jounin and other exceptional shinobi. Even so, he was barely in his seat before the bell rang. But as no one seemed to notice him yet, he cloaked his presence further, and waited as Iruka called roll.

After roll was finished, and Naruto's name wasn't called, he yelled out, "Hey Iruka-sensei, what about me!.?.!"

Every set of eyes swiveled to his seat in the back of the classroom, confusion, irritation, happiness, and relief flashing over their faces.

"Naruto, where have you been? What are you doing here? Are you responsible for what happened to the Hokage monument this morning?" Iruka demanded of his favorite student.

"Well, I have been on a training trip for the past six months, and I'm here to take my Genin exam. Hokage's orders. And as for the monument, I'm shocked that you would think so little of me, shocked I tell you," Naruto said with a foxy grin, and a look in his eyes that screamed 'so innocent I'm guilty'. "And shouldn't you be passing out the test right now? I mean, we don't have all day to spend here. I haven't had Ichiraku's in six months, I'm in withdrawal!"

Iruka looked confused for a moment, but then sent a face to Naruto that stated 'we're going to talk later', and began passing out the tests.

As Iruka was the one passing out the test, and no one else knew Naruto was going to be back for the exam, Naruto got a fair test, one that he took with ease, answering every question correctly and with his own distinct flair (mostly sarcastic remarks and comments that Iruka would have yelled at him for if he had said them out loud).

After the written exam, Mizuki took them outside for the taijutsu portion of the exam. Most used the academy taijutsu, the ones from clans using their family's style, earning them points in their own way, but seeing as Naruto wasn't on the list as normal, he went last. The test required them to land a blow on Mizuki, or fight well enough to prove they deserved a pass. Mizuki had been waiting for this portion, because he could beat on the demon brat without anyone being able to complain about it. However, it was not meant to be. As soon as Mizuki motioned for Naruto to start, the blonde shot forward with a punch to the gut that caught his sensei completely off guard and knocked him out of the ring and into a wall, bruising several ribs. Later that night, this would slow Mizuki down and allow for his capture by an ANBU squad, turning him directly over to Ibiki.

Weapons took a similar turn, with Naruto being just edged out by Sasuke.

Afterwards, the class went back inside for the final phase, genjutsu and ninjutsu testing.

"Okay Naruto, we will now be testing you on genjutsu and ninjutsu. Please perform **Henge**,** Kawarimi** create four usable **Bunshin**, and dispel the genjutsu when you feel it take effect."

Performing **Kawarimi** to perfection (for a Genin), the examiners marked it down as a pass, even if it was against their will. As he performed **Henge**, and became a perfect copy of Iruka, he felt the world disappear into blackness. Naruto tensed for only a moment before forming the correct seal and breaking the genjutsu.

"Good job Naruto," congratulated Iruka, "now if you'll make four workable **Bunshin**, we can be on our way."

Forming a familiar cross-shaped seal, Naruto intoned, "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Four Naruto clones poofed into existence, and the testers collective jaws dropped.

As one of the more bigoted chuunin was about to protest, Naruto smiled sadistically, a smile he had learned from Anko. "You know, you just said it had to be workable **Bunshin**. You never said I couldn't use a more advanced form. But if you want, I can do **Mizu Bunshin**." As he spoke, he formed the needed handseals and the pitchers of water drained and four more Naruto clones sprang into existence. "So, do I pass?"

Iruka found his voice first. "Yes, Naruto, you definitely pass. Here you go." He tossed a hitai-ate to Naruto and smiled broadly. As Naruto ran from the room, he was faced with Ibiki, Anko, Tenten, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, and Shino, all who looked like they were struggling with the decision over whether to hug him or hit him.

"Heheh," Naruto scratched the back of his head and held up his new hitai-ate. "I passed?"

The next thing Naruto knew, he was being alternately strangled, hugged, and bombarded by questions by Anko, Tenten, and Ino. Ibiki chuckled, silently telling Naruto he was getting what he deserved; Shikamaru was muttering something about 'troublesome blondes'; Chouji smiled as he munched happily on a bag of chips, content that his friend was back; and Shino nodded imperceptibly and smiled, happy to see his friend again, though only Naruto or another Aburame would have caught it.

"Um, I know you probably want to know a bunch of stuff, but I don't want to talk about it here. We should probably go to the Hokage's office. Besides, he didn't get to hear everything yet, and he wants to, so I need to talk to him anyway.

--

Once the group finally made it to the Hokage's office (held up by the girls seeing Gintoku and taking the required time to pet and coo over the fox, and Naruto trying to escape to go to Ichiraku's), Sarutobi set up the privacy seals once more. Naruto started out with how he had gotten Tsunade to come back, as they had seen her leaving for the hospital as they were entering the office (Tenten was practically frothing at the mouth to see her idol and hear how Naruto had brought her back. Though she wasn't happy to hear Naruto's nickname for her, or the fact that Naruto was betting with the Sannin.).

Soon came the time for Naruto to release his illusion, and he actively took away everyone's weapons this time. Tenten pouted a little, but Naruto wasn't about to take any chances. Everyone's reactions were different though.

'_Another thing for the villagers to hate him for.'_ – Anko.

'_Well, I suppose it could be worse. And I always have said that he's an interesting guy.'_ – Ibiki.

'_How troublesome.'_ – Shikamaru.

'_At least he's really good at hiding it. But if anyone tries to mess with him, they go through me.'_ – Chouji.

'_Those claws look like they would hurt. Maybe he wouldn't even need a weapon now. And now he's looking good…Wait a second! This is Naruto! Known him forever, not someone to think is cute…even if he is. Stop it!'_ – Tenten.

'_Ooooh, Naruto got hot. Wait! I love Sasuke! Dammit Naruto, stop distracting me!'_ – Ino.

'_I really wish he wouldn't make such a big deal out of it every time he shows people. Really, it's not that big a deal. And I'm getting hungry.'_ – Gintoku.

"Exactly what does your hanyou form entail?" Shino asked, the only one not shocked speechless.

"Well, like I said, I'm half-demon, so I smell like a half-demon. It might get a bunch of animals to leave me alone, but it also attracts demons that might want to kill me. That's not good. But then again, Konoha is in Fuzzy's territory anyway, so I doubt any demons are going to come after me here. Since it's really a result of me and Fuzzy being merged closer, we talk directly without having to meditate or be unconscious. And before you ask, Fuzzy doesn't like being called Fuzzy. He only puts up with it because the other option was Furry, and he said that had some connotations that he didn't want any part of. Anyway, I've got better senses, I'm a lot faster and stronger, and I'm the holder of the Kitsune contract, which is cool because I'm the first one ever to hold that contract."

Gintoku yipped and Naruto looked down at him strangely. "Oh yeah, I can also talk to foxes like the Inuzuka can talk with dogs, but I don't think I'm going to be using Gintoku in battle like they do. Maybe when he gets a little older. I don't want anything happening to him."

"Where did you meet Gintoku?" Ibiki asked.

"Well, after the ritual, I was kind of just running on instincts for a month or so before I got my mind back in control. I don't really remember much of anything from then. When I 'woke up', I was living with a family of foxes way up north. When it came time for me to move on, Gintoku came with me. He's been with me ever since."

"Anything else you want to tell us?" Sarutobi asked, amused.

Naruto screwed up his face in thought. "I've figured out a better way for me to do my weight training, but that's all I think of right now. Maybe something later."

Ibiki and Anko looked interested at a new training method their little brother devised. "And just how is that, Otouto?"

Naruto pulled off his shirt, revealing a well-toned body, and Tenten and Ino whimpered slightly. In the center of his chest, there was black seal that was familiar only to Sarutobi. "It's a modified gravity seal. Most of the time, gravity seals are used by people that travel a lot and have a lot of stuff to carry, but don't want to deal with all that weight, so they use one of these to take away some of the weight. Since this one is modified, instead of lessening the gravity, it makes it stronger. And the best thing is that it doesn't have the problems normal weight training does. All I have to do is channel the right amount of chakra through it and it releases, so I don't need that pause in battle to take off the weights, and it never trains one part more than another, because it affects my whole body equally instead of weights that can get off balance. And since I don't need to worry about getting any more weights, I can save money. I think that's it anyway."

Sarutobi nodded, vaguely wondering where the blonde had found out about gravity seals. The concept had been tried before, but there was no one who could put up with the constant pressure without it. It either crushed them because they tried to move to fast, or their muscles and bones were rendered unusable because of the seals. "Well Naruto, I may have more questions later on, but I can see you're itching to get out of here, and I have a great deal of paperwork to finish. So, unless you have anything else to say, you're free to go."

Naruto nodded, put up his illusion once more, and sprinted from the room, Gintoku on his heels, and everyone chasing after him once they realized he had left.


	3. Chapter 3

**For those of you concerned about a routine rewrite of the Wave Arc, fear not, for what I have planned is not a simple rewrite.**

* * *

After a welcome back dinner/interrogation party, Naruto had fallen asleep, and barely woken up in time to sprint across the village. Tenten, Anko, and Ino had dragged him out the day before so he could get some new clothes, seeing as how everything else was now either too small for him, or held together by the stains in the fabric. As such, he was now dressed in a pair of loose black pants with multiple pockets and scroll holsters running up and down the sides. He wore a pair of standard ninja sandals, and his top was the one concession he got from the female trio. He wore an orange button down shirt that was a smooth material that was designed to catch and bind up projectiles before they could puncture too far, and make removal easier. Naruto liked it because it felt nice. It wasn't like his old blatantly, screaming ORANGE jumpsuits, but a darker shade that looked good on the blonde. He also got a new trench coat in honor of Ibiki, though Anko would tell anyone who would listen that he wanted to be just like his big sister. 

Gintoku sprinted next to Naruto, wearing a hitai-ate that Naruto had convinced Sarutobi to give him for his fox friend. His theory was that people would be less inclined to attack the small fox if it was obviously a part of their village. Not to mention that it just made his friend look a lot cooler.

Naruto slid into the academy and sat down with barely a minute to spare. Of course, that was more than enough time for Naruto. Almost as soon as he sat down he felt a presence next to him. "Oh hey Hinata. What's up?"

Hinata blushed profusely, and started poking her fingers together. "Ano…it's g-good to see y-you back, N-Naruto-k-kun."

Naruto looked confused for a moment, but smiled all the same. "Well, it's good to be back, Hinata. Did you need something?"

Hinata froze, and her face went beet red. "A-ano…good-bye!"

'_That was weird.'_

"**Oh please, you tell me you still haven't figured it out by now?"**

'_What are you talking about Fuzzy?'_

"**I swear, I don't know how I put up with you sometimes."**

'_I let you out from time to time.'_

"**And yet at times it doesn't seem worth it. I can't believe you're this dense. Look over at the pale-eyed girl."**

Naruto looked over at Hinata, irritated that he was being ordered around, and curious as to what the fox demon was talking about. As soon as he saw the Hyuuga heiress, she turned around from where she was looking at him, blushing, and poking her fingers together at mach speed.

'_Okay...what of it?'_

"**You don't get it yet. Fine, I'll walk you through it. What is she doing?"**

'_Blushing and poking her fingers together. But she always does that.'_

"**No, if you bothered to pay attention, in all the time you've known her, you would know that she only does that when she's talking with you. What does this tell you?"**

'_Um, let's see, blushing, nervous, running away whenever she talks to me………OH NO! She's a pervert! A closet pervert! And she always seemed so nice, too. What am I going to do now?'_

'_**Oh, this just got so much better. I can have fun with this.' **_**"Offer her your body?"**

'_You're not helping!'_

"**You asked, and she could prove to bit a of fun for you. But you know, she is the Hyuuga heiress. A tiny position compared to the title of Demon Lord, but in your village, that title does carry some weight. I suggest doing something before she uses that to get to you."**

'_Like what? If I hang out with her, she'll just keep being a pervert!'_

"**Seems like your problem to me. I suggest trying to be her friend, and make it clear you just want to be friends, and direct her somewhere else. She does look like she could be a little fun, but not suitable for a future mate. Not strong enough."**

'_Hey! She's plenty strong!'_

"**I never said she wasn't strong. I said she wasn't strong enough. She'll battle to the death to protect something important to her, but she won't stand up for herself. Not strong enough. The girl with the weapons however…"**

'_Leave Tenten-chan out of this. And how'd you know all that about Hinata, anyways?'_

"**When you've been around as long as me, you learn how to tell things. Besides, I've known her just as long as you. Just because I pay more attention than you doesn't mean the information hasn't always been there."**

Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts by Iruka reading off the team listings. "Team Seven will be Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke, led by Hatake Kakashi." Naruto started cursing softly, and missed Kiba, Shino, and Hinata being placed together, and the Ino-Shika-Cho team continuing.

Naruto knew Kakashi was habitually late, Anko and Ibiki complained about it on a regular basis. He wasn't sure of how Kakashi viewed his status as the Kyuubi container, but if it was negative, Naruto wasn't looking forward to life as a Genin. Though it made sense that Kakashi was leading the team, being the only person in Konoha with a Sharingan. Once Sasuke activated his, he would be the optimal person to teach him how to use it.

Sasuke was not someone Naruto was happy about being on the same team as. He seemed to be just as big a bastard as he was before Naruto left, if anything it was worse. And Sakura wasn't helping matters by continually praising him and making him out to be the best. It just fed his ego.

Naruto didn't want to be on the same team as Sakura simply because while she may have been the top kunoichi in the class, she was annoying as hell.

--

Three hours later, Naruto had set up an extensive array of pranks for Kakashi when he finally showed up, and rebuffed any and all questions about his time away from the village.

The silver-haired jounin finally showed up, though underestimating his team proved to be a mistake. Once all of Naruto's pranks had run their course, Kakashi was hanging upside down from the ceiling by one ankle, covered in feathers and glue, and had been pelted with erasers.

"My first reaction…I hate you all." The three new Genin sweatdropped at their sensei's pronouncement. "Meet me on the roof in five minutes."

--

"First off, why don't you all tell me something about yourselves. Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, that sort of thing."

Sakura spoke up. "Why don't you go first sensei? Just so we know what you mean."

"Hm, well my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have likes…and dislikes. Dreams…well, I never really thought about it. Hobbies…I'd rather not tell you. Pinky, start."

Sakura growled at the lack of information in her sensei's description. "My name is Haruno Sakura, and my likes…" she looked at Sasuke and blushed, "my hobbies…" she looked more intently at Sasuke and a giggle escaped, "my dreams…" she openly stared at Sasuke and tried to hide her giggles and the drop of blood that came from her nose.

"And your dislikes?" asked Kakashi, almost afraid, but wanting to get her off the tangent.

Sakura glared at Naruto and audibly growled, making Kakashi sweat drop.

"Right. Fox boy, you go."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, Anko-nee-chan, Ibiki-aniki, Tsunade-baa-chan, Shizune-nee-chan, Gintoku, all my other friends, trying to come up with new kinds of ramen, like rabbit ramen, which is sooo good, and learning new jutsus. I dislike stuck-up bastards like Sasuke-teme, waiting for ramen to finish cooking, and people who judge people without getting to know them first. My hobbies are training with my friends, learning new jutsus, and coming up with new ones myself. My dream is to be seen for who I really am and surpass all the Hokages."

"Okay. Sunshine, your turn."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't have many likes, and I dislike many things. My dream…no, my _ambition_ is to kill a certain man, and revive my clan."

'_Okay,'_ Kakashi thought, _'my team consists of an overdramatic ramen obsessed idiot, a hopeless fan girl, and a brooding emo-avenger. Something tells me they've lost already.'_

"Now that we know each other, we will be having a survival test tomorrow at six."

"But Kakashi-sensei, we've already done survival training!" Sakura protested.

"Yes, but this survival test is to see if you're ready to become Genin."

"What do you mean? We've already passed the exam!"

"Right again Sakura. But just because you can pass a silly academy exam doesn't mean you're ready to be a Genin. This test has a sixty-six percent failure rate, so there's a good chance you won't pass, and you'll be forced to go back for another year. And from what I've seen so far, you'll all do better just to not show up tomorrow."

"Yeah right, we'll be there, and we'll all pass, no matter what the test is," Naruto protested.

'_Well, the idiot at least has some determination.'_

"I suppose that's your decision. But if you do decide to show up, be at the memorial stone at six o'clock tomorrow morning. Oh, and don't eat breakfast if you don't want to throw up." With that parting shot, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

--

Naruto made his way towards his teams training ground, somewhat upset with himself. He had remembered Kakashi's advice to not eat, but only when he was halfway through breakfast.

'_I can't believe I messed up instructions already!'_

"**Calm down, you're overreacting. Look at it as if you had a brain. If the scarecrow is certain you'll throw up if you eat, you'll probably puke if you don't eat too. This way, you had enough so you aren't collapsing from hunger, and you haven't had enough so that you're dragging from too much food. You're prepared for either situation, so shut up and let me sleep!"**

Naruto left the demon lord alone after that, not wanting to anger someone who had control over whether or not his body was flooded with youki (he could push it back, but it would leave him tired and worthless for about a day and a half afterwards). He came to the training ground a few minutes after six, and while Sakura and Sasuke were both there, Kakashi was not. Taking the three hour wait to be a hint of how long their sensei was going to be this time, Naruto told his teammates to wake him when their tardy sensei arrived, and settled down for a nap.

--

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura's scream woke Naruto and Gintoku, just in time to hear the beginnings of a poor excuse before Sakura startled them from their feet with an overly loud, "LIAR!"

Kakashi didn't have a response to that, and instead set down an alarm clock on the rock he was next to, pulled two small bells from his hip pouch, and tied them to his belt. "Okay, this test is fairly simple. All you have to do is get a bell by noon. Whoever doesn't get a bell will be tied to one of the stumps over there, denied lunch while being forced to watch those who did get a bell eat, and then sent back to the academy."

"But Kakashi-sensei, there's only two bells. No matter what happens, someone is going to be sent back."

"Correct," the lazy jounin confirmed cheerfully. "And this isn't like any other tests you've had before. If you want a bell, you're going to have to come at me with intent to kill–"

However Kakashi was going to finish his statement, his genins didn't get to hear, because he was cut off by a kunai thrown straight for his face. He plucked it out of the air, and the next thing his team knew, he was standing behind Naruto, one of the blonde's arms in a painful looking lock, and kunai to the throat.

"While your enthusiasm is appreciated, I haven't said go yet," Kakashi said calmly as Naruto struggled against the hold. Kakashi released him, and was back in front of the group before they could blink. "Like I said, you'll have to come at me with the intent to kill. Kunai, shuriken, anything you have. If you hold back, you won't be able to beat me."

Kakashi gave one of his patented eye-smiles. "Go."

Sakura and Sasuke both shot off into the woods, concealing their presences as best as they could, waiting for the best moment to attack. Naruto, however, just stood there, his face screwed up in concentration. Slightly shaken by the strange behavior (going by the file he had read on the boy, he had expected a flat out charge, not deep thought), Kakashi pulled his favorite orange book from his hip pouch and started to read. After a minute or two, Naruto patted his leg for his fox to follow, and the duo walked calmly into the trees.

--

Sasuke was dumbfounded as to what Naruto was doing, there was no way he was going to be able to beat Kakashi in a frontal assault. _'The dobe probably figured his chances of getting a bell were zero and went off to sulk somewhere,'_ Sasuke thought. _'Though it's not like him to not even do something stupid.'_

"Hey, teme," a voice whispered from over Sasuke's left shoulder.

The Uchiha jumped and turned to see Naruto crouching next to him. _'How did the dobe get there without me noticing?'_ Sasuke wondered with some alarm, but pushed it aside. "What do you want? You're giving my position away."

Naruto rolled his eyes, and Sasuke could swear the fox did too. "He's a jounin, and a former ANBU captain. If he couldn't sense where you are before, and I found you, he doesn't have a lot to teach us. As for what I want, I want to work together."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Why should I work with you?" Naruto thought the boy sounded faintly disgusted at the idea.

"Because," Naruto said, exasperated, "he's a _jounin_, and we're _genin_. Do you think he's going to be able to hold us off on our own? Our only chance of getting the bells is to work together."

"…No, I'll get those bells by myself. I don't need anyone dragging me down. If I can't beat this guy, I'll never be able to beat _him_."

Naruto crept off as Sasuke's thoughts took a turn for the homicidal, disturbed with his teammate's attitude.

--

Sakura didn't know what to think about her blonde teammate. It was obvious he had some kind of mental deficiency, attacking their sensei like that, and then just standing there in the open. Everyone knows that when you're faced with a superior opponent, the best thing you can do is outthink them. _'Not that Naruto would ever be able to do that with anyone.'_

Sakura was brought out of her musings when a hand clapped over her mouth, pulling her back from her vantage point. A voice whispered in her ear, "I'm going to take my hand off your mouth as soon as you stop struggling. Don't react, or your position will be compromised."

The voice did as it said, and Sakura was free once she stopped moving. She turned around to face her captor. "Naruto-baka!" Sakura exclaimed in a harsh whisper. "What are you trying to pull? You're going to give us away, and I won't get to be on the same team as Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto ignored the comments. "We need to work together. We won't get a bell otherwise."

Sakura struggled with the concept for a moment before deciding on which way to go. "No! I'll be able to get a bell much better than you, and if I do need to work with someone, I'll work with Sasuke-kun. He'll be much better help than you ever would be."

Naruto exchanged an exasperated look with Gintoku, before leaving the kunoichi alone to her thoughts.

--

Kakashi was wondering what his team was doing while he was reading. He was surprised he hadn't been attacked yet. He'd pegged Naruto as the impulsive type that would do something stupid like a head on assault. But barring that, he had expected for the Uchiha to try something by now. Though maybe Sasuke was waiting for one of the others to attack, so he could slip an attack in unnoticed. And Sakura just didn't seem much for the offensive type.

Wait.

Leaves rustling over to the side.

Naruto walked out of the brush, Gintoku at his side, guard down, wearing a slightly confused expression and holding no weapons. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, I have a question."

The copy-nin was honestly surprised by that statement, but didn't show it. "Really? Well, we're in the middle of an exercise, so it might be better if you wait until later," Kakashi said in his usual, slightly-condescending-but-it's-not-meant-to-be tone of voice.

Naruto scowled. "You're our sensei, right?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered hesitantly.

"That means you're supposed to teach us things, right?"

"Generally, yes."

"The exercise we're in, we're supposed to learn something, right?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered, gaining some confidence now.

"Well, then you should stop trying to deflect my questions and teach me like you're supposed to!"

Kakashi cringed. "Fine Naruto, what's your question?"

"What do you do if none of your teammates want to help you?"

"What do you mean by that?"

The blonde sighed. "I mean this exercise is obviously about teamwork. What do you do if none of your teammates want to work with you?"

Kakashi applauded the blonde mentally, but didn't give away anything on his face. "Why do you think this exercise is about teamwork?"

"Duh, genin teams always emphasize teamwork. And really, how were a bunch of fresh from the academy genins supposed to beat the famous Copycat Kakashi one on one? The only way to win against you would be to work together, and even that would be iffy. You've been a ninja since you could barely walk, haven't you?"

Naruto earned himself an eye-smile. "Well, not quite that long, but close. Anything else?"

"Well, the bell thing was designed to make us work against each other, since there was only two. But you're avoiding my question. How am I supposed to get my teammates to work with me? I doubt I can get another bell on my own."

"I suggest–wait, did you just say 'get another bell'?"

Naruto grinned broadly and pulled a bell out of his pocket. "Yeah, I did. I must have missed the other way to get a bell, cheat."

"When did you take that? I don't remember you getting close enough to take one."

"Well, I didn't get close enough to you to take one, you got close enough to me. Remember, when you had the kunai to my throat and I was struggling around. It was then. I've been pulling pranks on experienced ninja since I was four. I've snuck around the Hokage Tower. I've gotten places I'm not supposed to be able to get to. I've been trained in stealth by Anko-nee-chan, who can, surprisingly, be quiet when she needs to be. You think I can't steal a bell when you're that close? But like I said, I don't think I can get that to work again."

Kakashi was impressed against his will. "I must say that was a good job. You used misdirection very well, and you made sure I underestimated you. But since you already have a bell, you can go do whatever you want."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll play along. Gintoku and I are going to going to go catch a rabbit cause he didn't get any breakfast this morning. We'll be back soon."

--

Kakashi was disappointed. Sakura had been disabled by a simple genjutsu trap, and Sasuke was now buried up to his head. Only Naruto had figured out the true purpose of the test, and he had gotten a bell all by himself (which Kakashi was rather embarrassed about). Even after the blonde had spelled it out for the other two, they still failed.

"Whatcha reading?"

Kakashi didn't jump at Naruto's voice next to him, though he was impressed the blonde had gotten so close before he noticed.

"Icha Icha Paradise. I think it might be a little bit much for you though. Maybe when you're older."

"Pervert book, I got it." They sat in silence for a moment. "How'd the others do?"

"Sakura's in a genjutsu trap, and Sasuke fell victim to a Doton jutsu."

"Can I learn that one?"

"Maybe later. What are you still doing here?"

"The test isn't done yet, is it?"

_Very good._ "I suppose not."

"I checked the other two, and they still don't want to work with me. They're kinda sore I got a bell before them." A pause. "Well, Sasuke's sore I got a bell before him. Sakura's sore I got a bell before 'her precious Sasuke-kun'."

"I thought they might be."

"But you know, I've come up with a way to show you my teamwork on my own."

"Really? With your fox there?"

"No, Gintoku's not much of a fighter. I have a better idea."

"Am I going to have to get up for this?"

"If I do it right you will."

Kakashi sighed and put his book away. Naruto had already gotten one bell because he had underestimated the blonde; he wasn't about to do so again. They walked to opposite ends of the field, and Naruto smiled. "No chance of you just giving me that bell, is there?"

"I don't think so," Kakashi replied loftily.

"Even if I ask nicely?"

"No."

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Fifty Naruto clones popped into existence and attacked. Some went high, some went low, some attacked from afar, and some were right in Kakashi's face, but the silver haired jounin wasn't nervous. He had beaten more enemies than this, and they weren't Shadow Clones.

Behind his horde of clones, Naruto prepared his actual strategy.

Kakashi destroyed the last of the **Kage Bunshin** that had been sent after him. He faced the true Naruto, who brought forth four more Shadow Clones. Kakashi smirked. If all Naruto was going to do was send wave after wave of **Kage Bunshin** after him, it wasn't going to work.

The first clone flew forward with a punch, which Kakashi sidestepped, right into the path of the second. The second clone was destroyed by a punch to the head, and the third was caught and whipped into the last clone. The original Naruto flew forward, hands fixing into a seal, and Naruto became a very attractive, very nude, female. Kakashi caught the

blonde before anything adverse could happen.

Naruto's female counterpart, Naruko, smiled foxily at Kakashi. "You know sensei, you shouldn't let your opponent get behind you."

"**Konohagakure Hiden: Taijutsu Ougi: Sennen Goroshi**!"

The Naruto clone in Kakashi's hold turned to smoke as the jounin flew across the open area, his ass screaming in pain. Just before he landed, Kakashi felt something brush against his belt.

"Looks like I win, Kakashi-sensei!" As the cyclops looked up, he saw Gintoku padding over to Naruto, dropping a bell into the boy's outstretched hand.

As Kakashi got up, he couldn't stop from asking. "I thought you said your fox wasn't much of a fighter?"

Naruto laughed. "Since when has a ninja told the truth about his abilities? And besides, Gintoku wasn't in the fight as a fighter; he just took the bell at the end. I didn't _really_ lie about that did I?" Kakashi's alarm went off. "And it looks like you have some people to tie to stumps, don't you?"

--

Kakashi smiled under his mask. His students just looked _so_ pathetic, tied to the posts. Sakura was struggling against the bonds, and Sasuke was brooding (read: pouting). Naruto was eating his lunch happily, sharing some of it with Gintoku.

"So Naruto, what are you planning on doing with your bells?" Kakashi asked, wanting to drill the point into his other two genin's heads just a little more. And he was fairly certain Naruto knew where he was going with it.

Sure enough, two bells fell at the feet of his two bound genin, causing them to send confused looks at the blonde. "What's this for?" Sakura asked, suspicious.

"Oh come on, you mean you still haven't figured it out? And you were the smartest kunoichi of our year. We're supposed to be a team!"

"But why would you give us the bells after we kept refusing your help?"

Naruto snorted. "Just cause I don't like you guys doesn't mean you deserve to go back to the academy. But if we don't end up working as a team soon, something will go bad and we'll end up dead."

Sasuke snorted. "Since when do you know all about ninja life, _dobe_?"

Naruto fixed him with a glare. "Since I've been on a training trip for the past six months, and been traveling with the Slug Sannin, Tsunade, for the past few weeks. You don't do that without learning something, teme."

"So you weren't kidding yesterday when you said knew Tsunade-sama," Kakashi mused. "I had heard she was back in the village, but I never would have expected you would have been the cause."

Sasuke was looking as arrogant as he could while tied to a tree. "She probably just felt sorry for a dobe like you."

Naruto bit back the first four responses that came to mind. Instead, he taunted, "Just as long as you don't forget which one of is tied to a stump, you can think what you want."

"NARUTO, you shouldn't talk to Sasuke-kun like that!" Sakura yelled. "You just got lucky because Sasuke-kun tired Kakashi-sensei out for you! That's the only reason you got a bell."

Kakashi decided it was time to interrupt. Naruto had gotten the basic message across to his team, even if they didn't want to acknowledge it. "Sakura, stop talking. Naruto tried to help both of you several times, even after he got a bell for himself and completed his mission. You refused. If you had worked with him, you probably would have gotten a bell. Naruto got both bells from me through a combination of my underestimating him, and his teamwork with his Shadow Clones and fox. Sasuke and yourself failed to grasp the true lesson of the test, even after Naruto spelled it out for you. That is: 'Those who break the rules are considered trash, but those who abandon their comrades are less than trash'. Don't forget that."

Before Sasuke or Sakura could protest any further, Kakashi, Naruto, and Gintoku left the training grounds, Sakura and Sasuke's lunches just out of reach.

--

Kakashi ambled into the jounin meeting, only thirty minutes late. Kurenai sent him a dirty look, but kept speaking.

"As I was saying, Team Eight earns a pass. Kiba and Akamaru worked well together, and showed a proficiency in some his family jutsus, even if they do have a slight dependency on soldier pills. Shino made good use of his kikai bugs, using them in a number of different ways. Hinata has some confidence issues, but once those are worked out, she could prove to be a top kunoichi. Overall, I'm satisfied."

Sarutobi nodded and his son began his review. "Team Ten looks like they're going to be another good Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Shikamaru is lazy, but he's smart enough so that doesn't matter much, and Ino can get him moving pretty well. Ino is kinda bossy, but the other two don't seem to mind much. And Chouji gets along with both of them just fine. I approve."

Sarutobi turned a critical eye to Kakashi. "And how did your team do?"

A jounin in the back called out, "Come on, this is Kakashi, of course he failed them!"

Eye-smile. "Actually, Team Seven passes." Everyone perked up at that. The same voice in the back called out again.

"The Uchiha probably brought the rest up. No way any of the others could have done anything."

"Well, Sasuke is certainly talented. A lot of potential. I'm going to have to work with him a lot. He almost got a bell on his own. But he missed the point of the test. So did Sakura."

"What about the other one? No way he got it."

"Naruto ended up getting both bells actually." Sarutobi looked pleased. "He got the first before I said go, when none of us were expecting. Then he figured out the only way he would get the second was with teamwork, and made good use of **Kage Bunshin** to get it after the other two refused his offers of help."

"What's your final judgment?" Sarutobi asked.

"They have a lot to learn. Sasuke reminds me a lot of myself at that age, very focused, and very talented. Once he awakens his bloodline, I'll have a lot more I'll be able to teach him. Sakura is a bit obsessed, but will probably do well as a support or genjutsu fighter after some training. And Naruto's pretty good already, but I don't know how long he'd last in a real fight, and he never would have gotten a bell if I were being serious. He seemed to rely too much on **Kage Bunshin**, and that's not a good way to fight. But all in all, they have the makings of a good team. They pass."

Every jounin in the room was surprised that Kakashi had finally taken a team, but they quickly moved onto more boring matters.

--

Ibiki was waiting for Naruto when he got home. "I hear you passed your test this morning. Congratulations. Kakashi has never passed a team before, but I suppose I should have expected it from Konoha's number one most surprising ninja."

Naruto snorted as he collapsed in a chair. Training after the exam had been _hard_. "You should have known better than to doubt me. I am going to be Hokage, after all," Naruto explained in a matter of fact tone.

"What test did he give you?"

"Some stupid bell test."

Ibiki's face was one of schooled non-reaction. "And how did your team do? Lots of teams have failed that one in the past."

Naruto shook his head. "Fuzzy figured out the real purpose of the test pretty quickly, but the teme and Sakura wouldn't listen to me. Course it helped that Baa-chan had told me about her bell test with the old man when we were coming back to the village."

Ibiki could only shake his head.

--

The next month progressed slowly for Naruto and company. The new genin spent their days doing repetitive D-rank missions and training. Naruto's days were more filled than anyone else's it seemed, as he simply had more instructors than anyone else. Early morning had Naruto dodging Tsunade's punches and doing insane chakra control exercises, such as dodging kunai during a water walking session while holding sixteen leaves to different points on his body with chakra. Then he was off to the bridge to wait for Kakashi with the rest of Team Seven. After it was found that Kakashi was three hours late every day, Kyuubi told Naruto to go off into the woods to practice if all he was going to do was sit there and do nothing. Once Kakashi finally showed up, the afternoon was spent doing D-rank missions. After a quick refueling at Ichiraku's, Naruto trained with Anko, Ibiki, Tsunade, or his friends until after dark. Then get up the next day and do it all over again.

But after a particularly annoying cat retrieval mission, Naruto was fed up. So when the Hokage tried to give them another D-rank, Naruto said no.

"I can't believe this old man! We've been doing these stupid missions for a month! We're ready for a C-rank. We've done more than the required missions, and that cat keeps mauling me! Give us a C-rank or no mission at all." Naruto crossed his arms defiantly.

Only to be sent to the floor by Iruka's fist. "NARUTO! You can't talk to the Hokage like that! Apologize!"

Sarutobi held up a hand and chuckled. "Don't worry Iruka-kun. I know Naruto-kun means no disrespect. And I myself have been wondering why they haven't requested one yet."

Kakashi looked as if he was mulling it over. "Well, they have done the required number of missions. I suppose they're ready. Alright."

Sarutobi smiled. "Wonderful. I have a C-ranked escort mission to Wave Country here for you. Okay, Tazuna, come on in."

An old man with a paunch and carrying a bottle of sake strolled in. "What? These brats are supposed to be the ones to protect me? I doubt they could protect a sandwich, much less a master bridge builder like myself."

Naruto jumped back up. "Take that back you old drunk! We're fully qualified Genin of Konohagakure!"

Tazuna snorted. "Yeah right. You're probably the weakest one of the group, a loud mouth like you. Why couldn't I get a group of real ninja?"

Kakashi spoke up. "I assure you Tazuna-san, they are real ninja, and will be more than enough to protect you. And if not, I'm a jounin, and I will be there to make sure nothing happens."

"Hmph. Whatever. Just make sure I don't die."

"Meet at the village gates at nine o'clock tomorrow morning for the start of the mission. That is all," Sarutobi stated, his tone saying clearly that the matter was over and carrying the authority that a Hokage has.

--

Naruto walked into the Yamanaka Flower Shop, smiling when he saw the person he was looking for. "Ino-chan!"

The blonde looked up from her magazine, she had been bored out of her mind with nothing to do and no customers. "Oh, hey Naruto-kun, what do you need?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. "Um, well I kinda need you to do a favor for me."

Ino looked at Naruto appraisingly; Naruto never was this shy about asking for something before. He usually asked loudly and without any kind of hesitation, so this had to be something big. "What is it?"

Naruto blushed and muttered something Ino couldn't quite hear.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

Naruto mumbled slightly louder, but still too soft for Ino to hear.

"Dammit, speak up Naruto, you're always loud, and you choose now to try to quiet down? Jeez," Ino ranted as she shook her head.

Naruto's blush was intense as he looked Ino square in the eye and asked in a small voice, "Ino-chan, can you please take care of my plants while I'm not here? I've got a mission out of the village."

"What? Your plants?" Ino questioned loudly, causing Naruto cover her mouth with his hands and look around frantically.

'_Hmm, his hands feel really nice,'_ Ino thought absently.

"Do you want the whole village to know? And you said I was loud…"

"So where is this coming from?" Ino asked. "I've known you since we were seven and you've never mentioned anything like this before."

"I've had plants since I five," Naruto grumbled. "I couldn't have a pet, so I got plants. I got an actual garden when I moved when I was seven, and that's what I'm asking you to look after. I never told you guys because you would have teased me about it. Happy now?"

Ino was smiling broadly. "That wasn't so hard, was it? Why do you even need me to watch them anyway? Can't the people you live with do it?"

"Aniki has to work in the Interrogation most of the time, so he can't do it, and the last time I tried to get Anko-nee-chan to help me, they were all almost dead when I got back. And I was only gone for two days that time! And Baa-chan and Shizune-nee-chan are too busy at the hospital to do it. Besides, you're the best person with plants I know. Please do it, please Ino-chan?" Naruto punctuated his statement with a look that immediately hooked her, whether she wanted to or not.

"Fine, but only if you do something for me," Ino said imperiously, hoping to save as much face as she could.

"I do it, whatever it is, I promise Ino-chan, and you know I don't go back on my word."

"Fine. When you get back, you have to go out on a date with me," Ino smirked.

"Nani? A date? Why? I thought you were a Sasuke fan girl."

Ino shuddered. "Well…I had been, until my parents tied me to a chair and pointed out all the things that make him a bad boyfriend. After a while, I couldn't dispute the facts. Sasuke isn't good boyfriend material. He is still pretty hot though."

Naruto nodded. It was good to know his friend wasn't going to rant about the virtues of the last Uchiha anymore. "Okay, thank you so much for this. I'll take you on the best date ever when I get back from my mission."

"Um, one thing, Naruto-kun," Ino said, her turn to feel embarrassed. "I've never actually been to your house. Where is it? I know it's kinda far out there, but I don't know for sure."

Naruto smacked himself in the forehead. He had never had his friends over for two reasons. One, the truly massive amount of traps set up in the surrounding forest. Two, everyone else lived farther in town, so it was easier for everyone to get to one of their places instead of his. "Oh, well, just find Ibiki-aniki or Anko-nee-chan and get them to show you. If you can't find them, just ask Iruka-sensei. He knows how to get past all the traps."

The two blondes said their goodbyes, and Naruto started to leave, only to stop at the door and smile. "You know Ino-chan, if you really wanted a date, all you had to do was ask. I'm not like teme." Before she could say anything, he was gone.

--

The next morning, Team Seven waited for their sensei quietly. Sakura had been pestering Sasuke, but the look the gate guards had given her had shut her up rather effectively. Sasuke was brooding and Naruto was trying to take a nap. They were leaving the village, and Naruto wanted to sleep as much as possible while still on friendly territory, his recent training trip demonstrating to him that sleep might not always be possible so it was better to get it when you could.

Kakashi showed up half an hour late, showing that he was taking this seriously, being that close to on time. Naruto grumbled about not having enough time for a good nap, but placed Gintoku (still sleeping) around his neck and moved along with his team, chatting happily.

"Shut up brat, you're annoying me," Tazuna grumbled after an hour of walking. "And aren't ninja's supposed to be quiet or something?"

"Hey! I'll do as I want. Besides, if I wasn't talking, we would be bored and tense and testy. I'm just doing the whole group a favor."

As Naruto ranted, the group passed an innocent looking puddle on the side of the road, none of the genin noticing it.

Kakashi, however, did, and so wasn't nearly as surprised when two black-clad forms charged them. He did a quick **Kawarimi** and watched the battle unfold, wanting to see how his students would perform.

"One down," the demon brothers said in unison.

Sakura froze upon seeing her sensei ripped to shreds. One of their attackers moved towards her and Tazuna, and she shakily drew a kunai. But relief flew over her face as Sasuke appeared in front of her. The last loyal Uchiha deflected the missing-nin's clawed gauntlet, and expertly threw a shuriken to pin the chain against a tree.

The duo grimaced under their masks and twisted the chain, snapping it under the pressure. They could handle the brats without their best weapon. The blonde would be easy, and the one who trapped their chain would be next. Then they could kill the target and have some fun with the girl.

Naruto looked at his attackers. As soon as he saw their eyes, he knew this wasn't just any fight. The scratched hitai-ate clued him in, but their eyes glinted with bloodlust. They weren't just after one of them. They wanted the whole group dead. Naruto cursed.

The blonde jinchuuriki snarled as the larger one charged him, a kunai clashing against a poisoned gauntlet, giving Naruto the extra second necessary to land a knee to the assassin's face.

Sasuke twisted to avoid the freak's claw swipe, bringing his kunai up to a guard position. He launched a punch at the man's ribs, but ended up hitting only tattered cloak. The Uchiha moved awkwardly to prevent him from being skewered by his opponent. Sasuke sank into a crouch to get out of the range of the weapon, and shot forward the next second, sinking his fist into the man's gut.

The two brothers leapt back, side by side once more; ready to attack with one of their more potent tag-team assaults. They just couldn't believe that a bunch of brats like these would make them have to pull out one of their more advanced moves.

Well, they were planning on attacking until Kakashi appeared behind them and knocked both of them out with two simple strikes to the neck.

"What the hell were you doing, you one-eyed bastard?" Naruto raged as soon as he saw his sensei dispatch the two missing-nin.

"Well, I wanted to see who they were after, and I wanted to see how my students would do in a real combat situation."

"Those guys were going to kill us, and you left us on our own?"

"Oh, poor dobe, afraid you were going to get hurt?" Sasuke taunted. "Can't do anything without someone holding your hand?"

Gintoku bared his teeth and growled, and Naruto realized he wasn't far from doing that himself. He turned to Kakashi again. "Do you know how strong the poison on those claws is? It's so strong it's burning my nose from all the way over here. If one of us got that in our system, we probably would have died in minutes. What then, just cause you wanted to see how we would do?"

"**You know, you would have been fine. Any poison would have been burned out of your body before anything could happen."**

'_Shut up, I'm making a point. And if one of the others got poisoned, they wouldn't be so lucky. Besides, they can't hear you.'_

Kakashi gave an eye-smile. "Don't worry Naruto, I would have intervened before anything too bad could have happened."

Naruto scowled and Gintoku turned his ire to the jounin. "Maybe. But when Sakura froze, _Sasuke_ was the one who saved her, not _you_. And just cause those guys were after the old drunk does not mean they weren't going to kill us too. They _wanted_ to kill us. I've seen those eyes too often to not know what they meant. They thought they had killed you, and were planning on killing us."

Kakashi shrugged. "As I said, if things became too serious, I would have intervened. As it was, you appeared to have everything under control. I needed to see just who they were after, and this was the most beneficial way. Don't worry about it. But for now, we need to get these two tied up and then…Tazuna and I need to have a talk."

The old drunk gulped.

--

"…and it's cause of Gato that we couldn't afford anything more than a C-ranked mission. I'm sorry I lied to you, but if I don't make it there safely and finish building the bridge, the entire country of Wave is doomed. I understand if you don't want anything else to do with me." Tazuna wasn't being over dramatic, or playing up the situation. He sounded disappointed in himself for putting people in this situation, but more so than that, he sounded like a man defeated.

"Well, seeing as how you lied to us, and this mission is above the parameters for a new Genin team such as this, we are fully within our right to leave you here right now," Kakashi stated.

"I understand," Tazuna sighed.

Naruto had other ideas. "No way! We can't abandon him like this. We can't abandon our mission like that!"

"Actually, Naruto, nothing would happen if we left this mission right now," Kakashi reasoned. "As long as we explained the situation to the Hokage, there would be no negative repercussions."

"Yeah right! First mission out of the village and we quit just cause something new pops up? Besides, what happens to the old drunk if we quit? You just ready to let him die? Because you didn't think we were ready? What happened to our sensei who let us watch him _die_ before handing us off to opponents that might have been able to kill us instantly? I say we keep going on the mission."

Sasuke and Sakura voiced their agreements, and Kakashi didn't really have much choice but to let the team keep going. But the Demon Brothers were Chuunin, at best. Their next opponent would be a jounin, without a doubt.

--

"This mist is so thick…" Sakura marveled as they drifted silently towards the shore.

"Yeah, and we're using it to not been seen by any of Gato's men. But that only works if we don't make any noise, either," the man driving the boat said quietly, but sternly.

Five minutes later, the boat had landed, and the man who gave them passage departed, leaving the group in the mist. A short distance inland, Kakashi felt a chakra signature tickling his senses. It flared and his visible eye widened.

"DOWN!" He ordered as a thrown zanbato flew over their heads and stuck itself into a nearby tree. A shirtless nin with a face covered in bandages appeared standing on the blade.

"Well, what do we have-" the nin started, before Naruto cut him off.

"What the hell!" Naruto saw the bandaged nin. "Zabuza? What are you doing here? And why did you try to kill me?" Naruto turned to shout to the forest. "Haku, where are you? Come out here and tell me what's going on! I know I won't get anything from Momo over here."

Kakashi looked pissed. He had absolutely no idea what his student was doing, but it was most likely going to get them killed. You never taunted the enemy unless you had the power to back it up, and there was no way Naruto would be able to beat the Demon of the Mist. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed. "Do you want us to die?" Truthfully, Kakashi wasn't sure he would be able to beat the nuke-nin, but if he had a partner, or one of his students got in the way…

"Runt? That you? What the fuck are you doing here? Weren't you still in the academy when I last saw you?"

Kakashi was now confused. "Naruto?"

A person wearing a Kiri hunter-nin mask jumped down from a tree and appeared next to Zabuza. "It is good to see you again, Naruto-san. What are you doing here?"

"We're on a mission!"

"**Why did I have to get sealed in such an idiot? Brat, you know you should probably clue the tall one in before he tries to kill you. He's looking at us strangely."**

"Naruto, explain," Kakashi ordered.

"What? Zabuza and Haku are my friends."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "You are friends with an A-class nuke-nin?"

"Yeah! He trained me some when I went out on my training trip. He's got some really cool water jutsus."

Haku spoke before Kakashi, who was looking at Naruto with a suspicious look in his eye, could do anything. "Naruto has never betrayed his village to us. He would not do that. But if you do anything to him, I will be forced to retaliate. I will not let anything happen to him."

"I'm not sure I believe that. What would a kid not even out of the academy have to do with one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?"

"Precisely. A kid not even out of the academy wouldn't be able to betray anything we wouldn't be able to find out on our own. But Naruto has also stayed loyal to his village. Or do you doubt someone you have trained yourself?"

"Then what are you doing here?"

Zabuza smirked under his bandages. "We were hired to kill the old man."

Kakashi glared. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."

"Haku, didn't you talk any sense into him?"

Haku sighed. "You know as well as I that it can be very difficult, Naruto-san."

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, he is an idiot about this kind of stuff. So what about it Zabuza, are you going to try to do what you were hired to do, or what you want to do? Or aren't you the big bad Demon of the Mist that won't let anyone tell him what to do anymore?"

Zabuza growled. "Look, runt–"

"Are you going to let the little guy get kicked around again?"

Before anyone could do anything about it, Zabuza had punched Naruto into the ground. "Dammit runt, I'm just trying to stay alive! You think I want to help him! No, no I don't. He's keeping the hunter-nin away from me and Haku."

"Well, work with us then," Naruto said, as if it settled everything, as he picked himself up off the ground. "Make sure nothing happens to Tazuna, and then we won't have to worry about Gato anymore. Besides, how likely is it that he's planning on paying you anyway?" This was definitely something Zabuza had come across before. Missing-nin were usually hired by people who were criminals themselves, and that often meant missing-nin didn't get paid.

Zabuza growled, but didn't say anything as he mulled the offer over. "And besides, you still owe me for getting you food for all that time I trained with you. Not to mention that bunch of hunters I distracted," Naruto reminded.

Zabuza knew Naruto was right. Not about the food thing, but not being paid by Gato. "Your distracting those hunters nearly got me blown up, runt! And you got that food for us just to have pleasure of working with me," he taunted, before resolving. "Fine, I'll work with you. I didn't much like that bastard anyway. Kept trying to insult me. As if I couldn't kill him and his entire army without breaking a sweat."

Kakashi nodded. "Good. I don't trust you, but we need to keep moving in case Gato sent any other assassins. We can continue this discussion later. And you can tell us all you know about Gato and what he's capable of. I believe you mentioned an army?"

* * *

**Please review! It makes the updates come faster and the story better.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**For those that are worried about it, I will make up for the lack of action next chapter, trust me.**

* * *

Sarutobi had just come back from getting a bite to eat before returning to his undefeatable foe of paperwork, when he found a fox with a bag slung around it's neck sitting on his desk. The old Hokage sighed. Whenever there was a fox on his desk, it meant Naruto was sending him a letter, and usually a headache for him as well. Might as well get this over with.

After dismissing the polite summon, he unrolled Naruto's latest missive.

_Hey old man—_

_You know the C-class mission you sent us on? It's not. We ran into the Demon Brothers on our way to Wave, but since we took them out pretty easy, and we couldn't abandon our mission without looking like idiots (not to mention you probably wouldn't give us another fun mission for another month or so), we decided to keep going. Once we got to Wave we were ambushed again, but this time it was okay. I don't know if Kakashi-sensei is sending you anything (he should be), so I figured I'd write you. I ran into the people I was training with over the time I was gone. They were working for this guy Gato who has basically taken over the country, but I talked them out of it. They don't know if Gato hired any more ninja (cause they didn't know that the Demon Brothers had been hired), but they do know that he has basically an army of bandits that he plans on using to overrun the whole country once Tazuna is killed. So we need to deal with a bunch of bandits that number in the hundreds, possible missing-nin, a country with low moral, and a crazy rich crime lord. I figured you should know, and that we could probably use some reinforcements. If there's nobody available, we should be fine as long as we don't come across anyone else as strong as Zabuza and Haku. There shouldn't be because missing-nin like Zabuza cost a lot of money. Well they do if you pay them._

_So, that should be all. We could use reinforcements if you have them, and I'm working on convincing Zabuza to come back to Konoha with us. Before you go crazy about his being a missing-nin who kills everyone in sight, you're wrong. He had his reasons for doing what he did to get kicked out of Kirigakure, and they're good ones. He might not come back, but I know he's tired of running from hunter-nin, and if you take him in, Kiri won't bother coming after him cause he can beat most of their hunters and they have enough of their own problems. So if you could tell the ANBU and gate guards not to attack him if he comes by that would be great._

_Naruto, future Hokage_

Sarutobi paled as he read. Not only was Naruto not on a C-class mission, but it was now at least an A-class. Bandits were an easy obstacle for a good genin team, but a veritable army was not something for a single team of new graduates. And missing-nin were something that Team Seven weren't ready to be set up against. Not to mention Momochi Zabuza was a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. A person like that was something he would send multiple jounin after. Sarutobi was worried that Kakashi would have trouble with someone like him.

The Hokage stopped. He trusted Naruto. Naruto may be an idiot some of the time, but he did the right thing. Not necessarily the most intelligent thing, but Naruto did the right thing. He was able to change people, he could do things other people would call impossible, and if nothing else, he had the best luck of anyone in Konoha. If anyone could pull off a mission like this one, Naruto could.

That didn't mean he wasn't going to send reinforcements though.

He called to the chuunin outside his office, "Get me Anko and Gai."

--

Anko was happy. She had just been called to see the Hokage for an A-class mission. Those were fun. A-class missions meant either assassinations or lots of fighting, two things she really enjoyed. When she went in, her mood dropped slightly, seeing Gai there as well.

Gai was strange. He wore green spandex, shouted a lot, wore insanely heavy weights, trained constantly, and was bringing up a Genin in his image. His attitude and near-constant shouting turned off nearly everyone who came close to him.

Gai was also one of the best shinobi in the Leaf. He knew more about taijutsu than anyone else in the leaf, bar none. And if ever really forced to use it, his ninjutsu was still jounin level. He was able to do missions that were considered suicidal and come back safely. If he was here, that meant this mission was important.

"Anko-chan, thank you for coming so quickly. We have a situation in Wave Country."

Anko cut him off. "Wait, isn't that where Naruto just took a mission to?"

Sarutobi's face was grave. "Yes, it is. And this mission has to do with him. However, before I tell you what this mission entails, I must ask you to remain calm. I have just received a scroll from Team Seven reporting that their mission was not a C-class as first thought, but instead an A-class. An A-class missing-nin by the name of Momochi Zabuza ambushed them after reaching Wave. However, and I would not have believed this if it had been anyone other than Naruto, but Zabuza was friends with him and has decided to help us instead of assassinating our client."

Anko nodded. "You're right. No one but Naruto would befriend someone like that."

"He said he trained with Zabuza and his partner on his training trip. Zabuza gave us what he knows about Gato's forces. He doesn't know if there are any other nins, but there is a bandit force numbering in the hundreds. Other missing-nin are a possibility, and Team Seven is requesting back-up."

"What are our orders?" Gai asked in a serious tone, one he used when there wasn't time for messing around.

"The primary orders of the mission remain the same. The genin will protect Tazuna until the bridge is completed. Orders for you two and Kakashi are to take out Gato and his forces. Their lives were forfeit the moment they took action against Konoha nin. We also need to help Wave Country. They give us a great deal of business, and we need to free them. It will benefit both of us. The Genin are not to engage enemy nin, bandits only. They can help dispose of the bandit forces, but I want them to be back up as much as possible. Above all, make sure everyone comes home. I don't want any losses on this mission. Even if it means you have to come back without completing it. If the mission is out of the range of your team, leave. We'll decide what to do then."

Anko nodded her understanding, not just in mission mode now, but also in the mindset of a protective sister. Gai though, had a question. "Hokage-sama, I request to bring my team along with us," he asked in the same, strangely serious voice.

"Why? Genin should not be on A-class missions."

Gai nodded to the point. "Yes, but I feel they would good assistance. They would be under the same stipulations as the other Genin, and I was going to request another C-class mission for them tomorrow. With this mission, I think they would be more than satisfied. You know they are more than qualified to destroy bandit camps, and have done so before. If the unyouthful forces we will be facing are as strong as you are mentioning, they would be most excellent assistance. I would like them on this mission. It would also help them learn to work with other teams."

Sarutobi had to agree with the Green Beast's logic, but that didn't stop him from wanting to keep Genin off a mission like this one. But they would be good reinforcements, and this mission could use all the people they could manage. And with the number of jounins on this mission, the genin wouldn't be in too much danger. He only had one solution.

"Very well, but only if they agree. Tell them the circumstances, and if they don't want to go, do not force them. They would never be considered for this type of mission normally, but with the Chuunin Exams so close, we don't have the spare manpower to send the higher ranks on this mission. Leave as soon as possible. Dismissed!"

--

Forty-five minutes later, Anko and Team Gai were sprinting towards Wave Country. Tenten had agreed to go the moment she heard Naruto was in danger. Lee wasn't about to abandon a comrade or disappoint his sensei, so there was no way he was going to refuse the mission. Neji felt that it would be a good way to get out from under the Main House for a while, and if Lee accepted a mission that he didn't, there was no way he would ever hear the end of it. He might not have cared about the challenges Lee tried to get him to participate in, but he would be damned if he gave the spandex freak another reason to shout.

--

"So Naruto, would you mind telling me just how you came to be friends with an A-class missing-nin?"

Kakashi, Naruto, Zabuza, and Haku were all sitting in the living room of Tazuna's house, preparing to get all the information out on the table. Sasuke and Sakura had been sent out to scout the general area surrounding the house, seeing as how Kakashi predicted this would touch on Naruto's secret, and that was something they didn't need to know right now. The permanent residents of the house had likewise been banished to other areas of the home.

"I was chasing a rabbit for lunch early on in my training trip, and I chased it through their campsite. Turns out it was Haku's rabbit. They seemed to think I was a threat or something, and attacked. I dodged the big sword thrown at me, and most of the senbon, but Haku ended up hitting me pretty quickly. After I woke up, we talked for a bit, well, Zabuza and I threatened each other, and then we talked, and then after a long time of discussion, we ended up agreeing that I would get to train with them until I needed to get back to Konoha."

Kakashi kept his stern look. "And just what did you agree to in order to get this?"

Naruto shrugged. "Don't give away the position to hunter-nin, listen to them when they're trying to teach, and not to let anyone back in Konoha know I was being trained by an A-class nuke-nin."

Kakashi shook his head. "You didn't have to give up any Konoha secrets?"

Naruto scowled and Zabuza growled. "Look, not every nuke-nin wants to take over the world or try to take out a Hidden Village. Most of us just want to live in peace and be left alone to do some missions."

"Your history speaks differently."

Zabuza snorted. "Yeah right. Because I tried to kill your client or because of the coup against Kiri? I know it's not the first because every nin of our level takes assassination missions. It's just bad luck of the draw that we came up against each other when we first met. As for the coup against Kiri, you don't know the entire story, so shut up about things you don't know."

"The bingo book has you listed as being ruthless and uncaring, someone who killed over a hundred people before you were a Genin, a demon in human clothing."

Naruto tossed in his two cents. "Kakashi-sensei, most of the village thinks I'm a demon in human clothing, and the bingo book isn't always right. It doesn't say anything about you being a pervert or you being three hours late to everything, after all."

Naruto was suddenly on the receiving end of a surprisingly forceful glare, especially since it consisted of only one eye. "Naruto, you aren't helping. And how do you know what my bingo book entry says anyway?"

Naruto answered in a matter-of-fact tone that made everyone sweatdrop, "Anko-nee-chan has a copy on the back of the toilet at home for when you're going to be there a while."

After recovering, Kakashi went back to questioning the nuke-nin. "Zabuza, is he correct? Was the bingo book wrong?"

Zabuza shook his head. "Nope. I'll sacrifice someone else in a heartbeat if I need to, and my famous Genin Exam went off just the way the book has it written."

"Then why haven't you tried to complete your mission?"

"One, the guy paying me is a money-grubbing bastard who doesn't realize I could kill him in the space between heartbeats if I wanted. I'm not a fan of people like that, and the only reason I was working for him was because he had the money. Two, while the bingo book isn't wrong, it did leave something out, like Naruto said."

"And that would be?"

Zabuza smirked. "The reason why the Seven Swordsmen went against the Mizukage."

Kakashi couldn't keep the look off his face. That reason was something that was highly disputed in the shinobi world. Almost nobody knew what really happened, and those that did, weren't talking.

"The reason was that the Mizukage was scared of us. He thought we were getting too powerful for our own good, so he tried to kill us. The bastard thought a bunch of assassins would be able to take care of us. We were the best in all of Water Country! No way were we going to be taken out by a bunch of fresh ANBU. We put up with it for the first few attempts, and then we said fuck it. We weren't going to put of with that. We were just going to kill him, but we found out some of the stuff he was doing to people, nasty shit that even I don't like thinking about, and so we tried to take over. It didn't work, so we went missing. That's the short version at least."

Kakashi 'hmphed'. "I see."

Haku spoke up. "I believe we should stay on topic. What are we going to do now?"

"Simple, we make sure the old drunk finishes the bridge, make sure Gato doesn't do anything, and pretty much save the day. Then we go back to Konoha so Haku and Zabuza can become leaf nin."

Naruto's simple explanation and the matter-of-fact manner in which he said it made everyone believe him for at least a second. Then Zabuza reacted.

"Now wait a second! Who ever said we were going back with you? I don't need to be a damn tree hugger."

"It would get the hunter-nin off your back, and you wouldn't have to keep on the move anymore. Kiri wouldn't be able to send anyone after you with all the problems they're having right now, so you don't need to be concerned about Kiri retaliating against Konoha. It's a great solution."

"I think it's a good idea, Zabuza-sama," Haku spoke quietly.

Naruto almost smirked, but restrained himself because he knew he would get hit for it. Naruto knew he had just gotten Zabuza to come back with him. Whenever Haku really wanted something, Haku usually got it because Zabuza made sure it would happen. Of course, his job was made easier by the fact that Haku almost never asked for anything. But if Haku truly wanted to join Konoha, Zabuza would become a damn tree hugger if that was what it took to make it happen.

Of course, there was no way Zabuza was going to admit that, ever, and he was going to keep fighting the decision as long as possible. Naruto hated a whiny Zabuza.

As their conversation turned to Gato's army and the problems they might face, Naruto wondered if the fox he sent out would reach Konoha in time to get some reinforcements here. He couldn't shake the feeling that something really bad was going to happen on this mission.

--

"Okay team, today we learn something very important. If this exercise is mastered, you can theoretically learn any technique. How to climb a tree." Kakashi looked on as his students collectively sweatdropped.

"What! I already know how to climb a tree," Naruto protested.

"Tch. This is just a waste of my time," Sasuke deadpanned as he began walking away.

"Did I mention we would be climbing trees without using your hands?" Kakashi asked.

"How are we supposed to do that, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura questioned, bewildered.

"With chakra," he answered cryptically. Instead of elaborating, Kakashi focused chakra to his feet, giving them a slight blue glow, and began to walk up the side of a nearby tree, defying gravity as if it were an everyday occurrence. Which, considering how little Team Seven actually knew about their sensei, it might be.

Upon reaching a branch thick enough to hang from, Kakashi threw a trio of kunai at his team's feet. "Mark your progress as you make your way up the tree."

Sasuke and Sakura picked up their kunai and immediately set about the task, but Naruto just stared at the weapon and fumed. Kakashi silently jumped down behind the orange clad ninja.

"Something the matter?" he asked, hoping to make Naruto jumped. Though he might not admit it for fear of retaliation, Kakashi loved annoying people, especially his charges. It was his twisted way of showing people he was paying attention to them, even if he was reading his book.

Naruto didn't flinch. Growing up with Anko, who still threw kunai at him on a daily basis, trained him out of it.

"Yeah, I told you I already know how to climb trees already."

"Really?"

"Yes. Look." Naruto spun around and stalked up the tree trunk, not running as Sakura or Sasuke were doing, and soon reached the top. "Happy now?"

Sakura was gaping slightly at the dead last of her class doing something that surpassed her Sasuke-kun, and Sasuke's face was twisted into a sneering grimace at the dobe knowing something he didn't. Kakashi was mostly apathetic.

"Hahahaha!" It was at this point Zabuza decided to show himself. "Tree climbing? You're still doing this? The runt already knew this when I started teaching him, and he had water walking down by the end of the first day. And you've been teaching these kids for how long? Jeez Kakashi, we had to know tree climbing and have a rudimentary grasp of water walking to graduate the academy in Kiri. Though that may have had something to do with where we were," he added in a thoughtful tone.

"You also had to kill your comrades to graduate," Kakashi said evenly.

"Yeah, good times. Course they stopped that cause of me." Zabuza shrugged. "Anyway, I figured I'd come down and see what you're doing, see if it's worth my time. As it's not, I thought I'd take the runt and see how he's progressed since we parted ways."

Kakashi gritted his teeth. "Naruto is my student. I will be the one teaching him."

Naruto jumped down from his spot at the top of the tree. "Come on Kakashi-sensei, I don't need to do this stupid lesson. You just saw I can do it, and I can prove the water walking if you want. I don't need to build my chakra reserves any; I've got more than any other genin in Konoha. I haven't sparred with Momo in forever, and I want to make sure I can still keep up with him."

"You can keep up with one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"Oh, I can whip the runt's ass pretty badly, but he does have some interesting strategies most of the time," Zabuza explained. "And he's unpredictable as hell, so he can hold his own for a bit if I don't go all out. He's done for if I do though."

"I don't want my student going off with a missing-nin," Kakashi reasoned.

"I'm not a missing-nin, I'm right here," Zabuza retorted.

Naruto tried to hold back a laugh, but failed miserably. Sasuke and Sakura, who had stopped their exercise to watch the exchange, smirked and had Inner Sakura laughing respectively.

Naruto straightened up suddenly. "Hey, if we're all here, who's guarding Tazuna at the bridge?"

"Haku's up at the bridge."

Naruto relaxed at Zabuza's answer. "Oh, that's good. Training's good and all, but I don't want to have to back to the village with a failed mission just because we weren't paying attention."

"Naruto, if you aren't going to do the training, you can go guard Tazuna. I was planning on going up there once you got started, but I suppose you can do just as well until I get there."

"Fine," Naruto sulked. He really wanted to spar Zabuza.

--

Zabuza and Naruto made their way over to the unfinished bridge. Naruto because he had been ordered to, and Zabuza because he didn't have anything better to do.

"Runt, you haven't told your team Haku's a girl yet, have you? You know how she gets about that."

"Don't call me runt. And no, I haven't. They're going to have to figure it out on their own, just like I did. She's already given them the whole 'I'm a boy' thing, hasn't she?"

"Yeah, did it last night."

"Kakashi-sensei will probably figure it out first. He's got the most experience. Sakura will be next. Girl thing, probably. And I don't know about Sasuke. She might have to tell him. She might want to tell him, just to be safe, you know."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Well, he's the last of his clan, right? He said when we were introducing ourselves that part of his ambition was to 'restore his clan.' But he's got half the village fangirling after him, throwing themselves at him, and he's never had a date. He doesn't even look at them. _And_, he never reacts when I use my **Oiroke no Jutsu**. Not even a twitch or drop of blood. Nothing. If Haku wants Sasuke to keep his hands to himself, she should probably tell him she's not a guy."

Zabuza just grunted thoughtfully.

Naruto smirked. "And besides, I can't wait to see his face once she beats him. He'll hate getting beat by a girl. I think he thinks girls will never be as strong as guys."

Zabuza muttered something like 'dumbass' and 'girls can kick that prick's ass'.

The strange duo continued their walk to the bridge, mostly in silence, broken by Zabuza's grumblings.

--

Sasuke ran up the tree, pushing his muscles to their limits. Sakura had mastered the exercise shortly after the dobe had left. Kakashi had ordered her to continue running up and down the tree to build her reserves. Now she was collapsed at the bottom of the tree with a minor case of chakra exhaustion. And he still could barely reach the halfway point.

How did the dobe find such power? He was obviously inferior to the power of one of Uchiha blood, but he was slightly stronger than he had been in the academy, though Sasuke would only ever admit that to himself, and then only grudgingly.

So why would Zabuza, someone with such obvious power, bother spending his time with the _dead last_, when he, the _Uchiha_ _genius_, was right in front of him. It didn't make _sense_. Why? He was the one who needed the power. He was the one who _deserved_ it. Power was what he needed to kill his brother, to avenge his clan.

He would have power, no matter what.

"Sasuke?" he heard Sakura say tentatively. Sasuke panted as he leaned against his tree, but he didn't collapse as his muscles were begging him to. He wouldn't allow himself to show weakness to anyone, especially not a fangirl.

"I'm out of chakra and I need to head back. Can you walk with me?" Sakura asked rather timidly.

"No."

Sakura nearly fell over from the blunt answer. "O-okay, I suppose. You can probably keep training for a long time, can't you, so walking me back would just cut into that," she justified. Sasuke didn't answer, opting to stare up the tree at his progress as Sakura walked off.

The lack of progress was mocking him. He had to get stronger.

--

Sasuke opened his eyes to a wooden ceiling. He blinked. _Wasn't I in the forest?_

"You passed out in the forest. Chakra exhaustion. You need to be more careful. Gato's men are still out there."

Sasuke looked up at Haku angrily. "I'm more than capable of handling a few mindless mercenaries," he sneered.

Haku looked at Sasuke impassively. "It doesn't matter how strong you are if you are found alone, asleep, and out of chakra. You're lucky Naruto-san brought you back before you were found."

"Naruto?"

"Yes."

Silence.

"Why do you fight?"

"To get stronger so I can kill my brother and avenge my clan."

"…Is that the only reason? Is there no one you fight to protect?"

Sasuke's eyes lost any hint of warm they might have held. "No. Anyone too weak to protect themselves isn't worth my time."

Haku looked at Sasuke in a way he couldn't quite describe. It was something almost close to…pity? But no one looked at an Uchiha with pity. What could it be?

"I'm sorry," Haku said before leaving the room so quickly Sasuke was surprised.

'_What was that?'_

--

Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Haku, Zabuza, Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari were all sitting down at the dinner table, eating. Gintoku was sleeping in a corner. Zabuza and Tazuna were sharing some sake, while Kakashi was reading his book. Sakura was fawning over Sasuke, who was in an eating competition with Naruto (though he wouldn't admit it), and Haku was giggling at their antics. Inari sulked as Tsunami made sure everyone had as much food as they wanted.

Naruto and Sasuke's impromptu eating competition came to screeching halt when the duo both rushed to the bathroom to take care of all the extra food they had eaten. Naruto came back slightly paler, but laughing. At the sight, Inari erupted.

"Why are you fighting Gato? You're all just going to fail. You should just give up. He's going to kill you. He's going to kill all of you!"

Naruto scoffed. "Hey, we're here to make sure he doesn't win. Besides, we already got two of his best fighters on our side. Stop worrying so much."

"You don't know anything! He's just going to cut you down like he does everyone else!"

"Cut it out kid, you're going to ruin dinner for the rest of us," Zabuza said, waving his hand.

"You don't know what he can do. He can take anything he wants from you." Inari rounded on Naruto. "Especially you! You're always laughing and smiling, you don't know how hard life can be!"

The clattering of utensils stopped the small boy's rant before it could go any further. The temperature dropped several degrees. "Shut up." The command was so cold that everyone had to look twice to see that it was actually Naruto speaking.

"You say I don't know what's it's like to have a hard life? It's you who doesn't know shit. I don't know what happened to get your panties in a bunch, but you need to get over it. You're not the only one who's had shit happen to them."

"O-oh y-yeah?" Inari stuttered, trying to save face.

Naruto got inches away from the boy, and growled, "I grew up without anyone to care for me until I was seven, and I'm the current Konoha record holder for number of assassinations attempted against me. Damn near everyone in my village hates me. _Don't_ tell me I don't know what a hard life is like. I know more than almost anyone."

With that, Naruto stormed from the room, leaving his dinner half finished, door slamming behind him, as he left to go train. Inari soon ran upstairs to his room, eyes tearing, and holding back sobs.

"I will go speak with Naruto once he has calmed down," Haku volunteered.

"Even if that stuff was true, which I doubt, Naruto-baka shouldn't have run off like that," Sakura stated, looking at the door Naruto had slammed. "He shouldn't be out training at night like this. It's stupid."

Haku glared at the pink-haired kunoichi with such force that Sakura flinched and made to hide her eyes, but forced herself to maintain eye contact, if only to impress Sasuke. "If you knew anything about your teammate, you would know that everything he has just said is true, and that he is not foolish enough to stray too far into the forest. Naruto-san is more than capable of dealing with any bandits that may come across him, and he would stay close enough that if he does run across anyone he can't handle, he will be able to signal us. Do not insult someone you clearly know so little about."

Haku then turned to Tsunami. "Tsunami-san, this rice is very good. Thank you for feeding us."

--

Naruto had dispelled his Demonic Illusion, revealing his true form, and had been tearing at trees with his claws and tails. He was moving in for another strike when he felt Haku's chakra signature moving towards him, so he set his illusion up once more. She knew about his true form, but that didn't mean he wanted to flaunt it. Not to mention he shouldn't have been using it anyways. If there was someone he couldn't detect, who knows what could happen if information of his true form got out.

"Naruto-san? Have you calmed down yet?" Haku's soothing voice called from the edge of the clearing.

He panted once or twice before smiling. "Yeah, I think so. I'm not going to blow up at anyone anymore."

Haku nodded. "That's good. It's not good to be so upset." They sat in silence for several minutes until Haku broke it once more. "Tsunami-san told us why Inari-kun was so upset."

"Oh yeah? What'd the brat have happen to him?" Naruto asked with the beginnings of a scowl.

"A man Inari-kun saw as his father, and a hero to the village, opposed Gato. One day, Gato took the man and killed him in public," Haku explained with a bowed head.

Naruto felt like he had just been smacked in the face with a wet fish. While Inari's situation wasn't as bad as his own back in Konoha, it was worse than Naruto had thought, and Naruto felt worse about blowing up at the kid. He probably needed it to show him that he wasn't the only one with a crap life, but Naruto still felt bad about it. Maybe he'd go apologize later.

"Who's that?" Haku asked, a senbon appearing in her hand, as her chakra senses picked up on someone coming towards their position.

Naruto drew a kunai and concentrated. Two of the signals felt familiar, but the other three he didn't know. As the signals got closer, Naruto relaxed a little, but kept the weapon close at hand.

"I'm not sure who three of them are," Naruto whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "but one of them is Anko-nee-chan and the other is Ten-chan."

"Are you sure?" Haku questioned.

"I live with nee-chan and I've known Ten-chan since I was seven," Naruto answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I think I know what their signatures feel like."

"Well, I hope you're right, because they're here."

Just as Haku said, Anko and Tenten landed in the clearing, followed shortly by Gai, Lee, and Neji. Haku stayed on edge, but Naruto relaxed as he saw the Konoha forehead protectors. He had been fairly sure that they were safe, but he had wanted to make sure.

"Naruto, who's this?" Anko asked, seeing the senbon and a kunai immediately jumped to her hand.

"Hey, slow down nee-chan. This is Haku-chan. She's a friend, and is going to be helping us take down Gato." Naruto knew Haku would be slightly upset with him because she wouldn't be able to play her 'I'm a boy' card, but he knew Anko was the type to stab first, get facts straight later (if at all). Frankly, Naruto agreed with Haku's plan to make everyone not close to her believe she was male. It was just safer. In the field, shinobi were killed, but kunoichi were kept. And that was fate that no one wanted happening to them.

It was then Naruto really noticed the other members of the group. "Ahh! Fuzzy Eyebrows!" He yelped, pointing at Lee. Then he shrieked like a little girl. "Eek! Super Fuzzy Eyebrows!"

Tenten giggled slightly at Naruto's antics, absently remembering he hadn't met her team before. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, either.

"I am Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast, Maito Gai!" the larger spandex clad man proclaimed, striking a pose.

"And I am the second coming of Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast, Rock Lee!" the smaller exclaimed, striking his own pose.

Naruto twitched. He did not need to see men in spandex posing. Not now, not ever. Shivering slightly at the sight, he turned to the final member of the group. "Who're you?"

White-eyes looked Naruto up and down before snorting lightly, and deciding the fox boy wasn't worth his time. Tenten growled softly, and glared at her teammate. "That's Neji. Don't worry. He's just upset because we had to run all the way here and haven't had any food yet," she explained, making her teammate's excuses, whether his attitude deserved it or not.

"Well, fine. I'll show you to where we're staying. It'll probably be pretty crowded, but we'll manage." As he turned his back for them to follow him Anko was at his back with a kunai to his throat.

"Didn't I always tell you to make sure you know who people are before you accept them as allies?" she asked as she pressed the blade against his skin.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and I did nee-chan. I know what your chakra feels like, and if you could fool my nose, I'd be dead already. I know what you and Ten-chan smell like."

WHAM! "Are you saying I stink?" Anko and Tenten asked in unison, yelling at the boy they had just punched into a crater.

Naruto pulled himself up from the hole, rubbing his bruised scalp. "No, I said I know what you smell like, not that you stink. Nee-chan, you smell like snakes and a bit of blood, and Ten-chan smells like steel, polishing oil, and some smoke from the forge. And why'd you have to hit so hard? That's mean."

"Yeah, well you deserved it for saying we stink," Anko retorted.

"I did not!"

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't!"

"YOSH!" Gai interrupted. "We must put this most unyouthful argument behind us, and find our lodgings for the night!"

"Gai-sensei! And if we cannot do so, I will build us shelter with my own hands!"

"Lee! If you can't do that, I will carry us all until I find someplace to sleep!"

"Quick, cover your eyes!" Tenten hissed, just as a genjutsu appeared, showing Gai and Lee hugging and crying on a beach, waves crashing as the sun set in the background. Tenten and Neji had become used to this and averted their gaze easily. Anko, who had known Gai for years, did the same. Haku covered her eyes, but Naruto was not so lucky. He was caught full blast.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

Anko snuck around behind the duo and smacked them both. "Baka! Did you forget we're in the middle of enemy territory? That we could be ambushed at any time? Keep it down, idiots!" she hissed as they flew in trees, disrupting the genjutsu and the hug.

Anko walked over and slung Naruto over her shoulder, who was still in a state of shock from the genjutsu. "You know the way back, right?" she asked, looking at Haku. She nodded. "Lead on then."

--

Haku called out a greeting to Zabuza and Tsunami as the group arrived at Tazuna's house. Kakashi wandered into the hall and saw who was there. His eye finally fell on Naruto, who was now seated against the wall, shivering slightly and holding himself with his arms across his body. His eyes were glazed over and unfocused.

"Got caught in the sunset genjutsu?" Kakashi asked with a bit of humor in his voice.

Anko shook her head. "Full blast. There was nothing we could do. It was ugly. Should be out of it by morning though."

Kakashi nodded absently, his nose already back in his book.

--

Naruto had been stuck in bed to sleep off the effects of Gai's genjutsu, and the rest of the kids were cramming in for the night. Neji had taken the first guard shift. Gai was challenging Kakashi to another contest before they turned in, much to Tsunami's amusement. Tazuna had gone off to pass out, leaving Anko and Zabuza with the sake.

"So you're supposed to be the Demon of the Mist?" Anko asked, her cheeks slightly flushed from the alcohol. "Don't look like much."

Zabuza chuckled from behind his bandages. "Yeah, well you don't look like much for someone who's supposed to have been trained by the ex-Konoha Snake Sannin."

Before the Demon could blink, a kunai was pressed against his throat and Anko's eyes were flashing dangerously with rage and killer intent. "Don't you ever associate me with that traitorous bastard! I'm nothing like that piece of shit, and I'll kill anyone who says I am, got it?"

Zabuza sweated at the feel of steel on his jugular. He may have been a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, but he had been around long enough to know that that meant nothing when compared to an angry female. There was simply no way to defend against them. "Alright, fine, don't talk about the old sensei, right. The hell did he do to you anyway?"

"You don't need to know that. But I will kill you if you talk about that again," Anko promised, leaning back to sit down again.

"If it makes you feel any better, my old sensei tried to kill me a couple times too," Zabuza offered.

Anko narrowed her eyes. "Everyone thinks their sensei tries to kill them. Don't exaggerate," she spat.

"You know about my genin exam, the one where I killed everyone? Well, my sensei had one of his kids in that bunch. Weak little shit too. Should have been dropped long before graduation. Wouldn't have been there if his parents weren't pushing him. But that doesn't matter. My first mission as a chuunin and we run into a bunch of missing-nin that weren't supposed to be in the area. Bastard saw his opportunity, and dropped me there and then. Last thing he said to me before he left was, "Revenge is a bitch, ain't it?" Took me three days to get away from them. I cut off their heads and picked up their bounty as soon as got back to Kiri. Course all my requests to disembowel the motherfucker were denied. He had an in with the Mizukage. So my first official act once I was declared a missing nin was to find my old sensei, and cleave him in two. Felt pretty good." Zabuza trailed off wistfully as he remembered his revenge against his old master. Anko's eyes clouded over as she saw the ways she could kill Orochimaru. The two lost themselves in dreams of the past and sake, staying up until the guard shift switched and they were forced off to bed. Separately.

--

The group awoke the next day to the smell of Tsunami's fantastic cooking. It may not have been fancy, but it was damn good. Team Seven was still unable to see Kakashi's face behind his mask, and Gai and Lee were ranting about the fires of youth, even under the combined killing intent of Zabuza and Anko. Neji was eating quietly, but if you looked close enough, you could see the clenched jaw that came from his teammate's rant. Tenten had long since mastered the art of tuning out a 'Fires of Youth' rant, and so was unaffected. Naruto had shivered and muttered something about checking outside as soon as the duo started.

However, as soon as the Green Beasts were about to start hugging, and explosion went off, shaking the house, followed by Naruto's shouts for them to get outside now!

The shinobi rushed outside, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to guard Tazuna, and were greeted with the sight of Naruto staring down a group of bandits numbering at least fifty. The explosion appeared to have come from a tagged kunai that Naruto had used to stop their advance. The 'leader' of the bandits stepped forward. He was a greasy, stringy haired man, armed with a sword that seemed to be only one step above the rest of groups.

"Oi, Zabuza!" he called. "Gato told me to kill you if you were here. He also told me that he never planned on paying you." With this, Naruto shot a glance at Zabuza that clearly read 'I told you so!' "In fact, he was going to use you kill the old builder and then kill you when you were tired. But oh well, we can do that now, can't we boys?"

The bandits erupted into cheers and catcalls, shaking their weapons in the air. "This seems like a good warm-up, eh Haku?" Zabuza asked, as if he wasn't looking at fifty men armed to the teeth.

The leader gritted his teeth. "I'm gonna kill you myself! Charge!"

It really wasn't much of a fight as it was a slaughter. Zabuza dived in immediately, cackling madly, Anko right behind him. Haku stayed back, still not liking taking human life, and Kakashi stayed on the porch as well, making sure there was another line of defense before the house would be breached, not that he expected it was needed. Tenten picked off the outside men trying to sneak around the sides with her weapons, Neji was using powerful Jyuuken strikes to liquefy organs as Gai and Lee cut a swath through the bandits while yelling about Youth. Naruto had run around back to make sure there was no one coming from that direction. He also didn't want to get involved with killing the bandits if he didn't have to. Killing still wasn't something Naruto was comfortable with, no matter how much Kyuubi taunted him about it. Everyone deserved a chance to live, Naruto felt, and while the average bandit had certainly almost certainly wasted that chance, Naruto didn't like killing people who couldn't fight back.

And from the sounds of the fight out front, these bandits definitely couldn't.

Naruto's advanced hearing picked up the cracking of sticks as they were stepped on by someone who didn't want to be heard, moving his direction. The level of stealth placed the person at low chuunin at best, but that was still a lot better than your average bandit.

Naruto palmed a kunai, keeping it out of sight, waiting for the enemy to make his presence known once more. He probably could have sniffed him out fairly easily, but didn't want to give up his defensive position, not when there could have been another person he didn't know about ready to sneak in the moment he left.

A trio of kunai sped towards Naruto's head from the enemy's position, which Naruto blocked easily. The jinchuuriki saw his opponent leap down from the tree and run towards him. He was moving too fast for Naruto to hit with a kunai, he was nowhere near as good with thrown weapons as Tenten, but he did have another idea. Naruto threw his kunai just in front of the man, forcing him to alter his path to just where Naruto wanted him. Naruto threw a shuriken moments later, handseals following immediately after.

"**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Naruto had not known this technique for very long, the scroll for it hadn't been with the one for the original technique, and he hadn't given much thought to doing something like this. The only reason Naruto did know it was because Shizune had done it with some senbon needles during a sparring match. He had begged her to teach him the technique, but she had refused, saying that he shouldn't even know the original, and wasn't going to teach it to him until he was older. Naruto didn't take this well, and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to recreate it. Since he knew the original, it wasn't too hard, and surprised Shizune with it the next time they sparred.

It also surprised the nin Naruto was fighting now, as one shuriken became dozens. Normally, there wouldn't have been so many clones, but with his chakra capacity, Naruto overdid it.

Just as Zabuza was cutting the head off the last bandit, Naruto's opponent was collapsing; dead from the massive amount of puncture wounds caused by his jutsu.

--

Tenten liked to think of herself as a fairly levelheaded individual. She didn't abide by most of the fangirl tendencies that too many kunoichi had. She felt that kind of reaction had no place in the shinobi world. Kunoichi had to be just as good, if not better than, their male counterparts, and there was no room for that kind of weakness.

That being said, it should also be known that everyone has their limits, and Tenten had just reached hers. She had controlled herself so far through a combination of being exhausted, not quite awake, and forcing out everything for fear of being caught in Gai's genjutsu, but seeing a member of the Seven Swordsmen of Mist in combat was a little more than she could handle.

Which leads us to our current sight.

"Ohmygodthatwassocool, canIseeyourswordagain, Ican'tbelieveI'mreallyherenexttoyou, canyouauthographthisforme, mynameisHigurashiTenten." The entire group sweatdropped as the weapons mistress shot around Zabuza in a comedic fashion, looking up at him hopefully, at one point staring solely at the sword. It was this sight that greeted Naruto as he walked back around the house.

The blond ninja quickly grabbed his friend and dragged her away from the swordsman, even as she hit him over the head to try and stop him. "Tenten," he started, "what are you doing? Calm down and stop acting like a fangirl! It makes you look like an idiot, and I know that you're definitely not an idiot. I don't want to see one of the smartest and prettiest girls I know acting like Sakura or something."

While Tenten was wrapping her mind around the fact that Naruto had just complimented her, something she was still trying to decide if she wanted to like (she had known Naruto for a long time, and he was pretty good looking, did she really want Naruto to like her that way, or just as a friend), Sakura started beating the hell out of Naruto, having heard the accidental insult with the special hearing all girls seem to possess.

Once Naruto had healed up, Sakura had calmed down, Tenten had been brought out of her musings, Lee and Gai had been brought out of their hug, and Zabuza had cleaned his blade, the group found themselves back in Tazuna's kitchen, discussing their plans now.

"I say we go in and kill them all," Zabuza opened bluntly.

Kakashi regarded him with a lazy eye. "We still don't know how many Gato has under his command. We shouldn't race in like that. Especially since Naruto dispatched that chuunin that had been trying to sneak in from the rear while we dealt with the bandits. We don't know if he has any other shinobi hired."

Sasuke's eye's flashed with confused annoyance. _'There's no way the dobe could defeat a chuunin by himself, is there? No, he got lucky. And I doubt that guy he killed was really chuunin level. But besides, even if he could defeat someone of that level, I'm far past him. I'd have been able to take out that nin much easier. But I still need to get stronger if I want to kill _that_ man.'_

"Oh come on, the genin can take out the bandits, they're fucking pushovers, and half of them are drunk or hungover twenty four hours a day. I doubt he's got many more people stronger than that, and even if he does, we can take care of them. Come on, we've got five jounin level shinobi. Unless he throws an army of ANBU at us, we're good."

Anko interrupted. "Wait a second, five jounin? I only count four, and Naruto, if you make any cracks about me not being able to count, I will force feed you Ibiki's cooking for a week." Naruto cringed, for he had just been about to make a joke just along those lines.

Zabuza placed his hand on Haku's head. "At full strength, Haku here could probably beat you. Maybe even Kakashi."

Kakashi's face tightened behind his mask, but didn't let it show. "I doubt that," he said loftily. "I'm not an elite jounin for no reason after all."

Zabuza smirked behind his bandages. _'Keep on thinking that way, you cocky bastard. We'll see who's stronger soon enough.'_

"Our mission is to remove the most unyouthful Gato and his forces, and we shall complete it," Gai proclaimed. "We must stoke this town's fires of youth once more, and that means we should not allow any more unyouthful attacks like this one."

Anko felt another hug coming on, and cut it off before Gai could get that far. "Gai's right. We need to take Gato out hard and fast, before he has a chance to mount a real attack. If we can take out his base, we don't have to worry about people getting caught in the crossfire, and we won't just be waiting for the bastard to attack."

"Alright all five of us go after Gato, and the genin slaughter the bandits. We've got a plan," Zabuza stated.

Kakashi stared at him. "I believe Team Seven is still under orders to guard Tazuna, not to go after a bandit camp. There's no reason to put them in unnecessary danger."

"They can protect him by taking out the threat. And if you're so worried about them, keep those two here," Zabuza said, pointing at Sasuke and Sakura. "But Naruto should definitely come with us. Hell, he's probably the best suited for this job."

"Really?" Kakashi asked, his tone clearly stating he didn't believe the nuke-nin's assessment.

Haku spoke up for the first time all meeting. "You should really have more faith in your students, Hatake-san," she said softly, with a hint of steel behind it.

"Yeah, don't underestimate me Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto defended.

"I'm just trying to make sure you don't get too big of a head," Kakashi reasoned lazily.

"Hey, I'll never become like Sasuke-teme!"

"BAKA! Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that! He's way better than you ever will be!"

"NO! Naruto-san's flames of youth burn much brighter than Sasuke-san's!" Lee objected.

"YOSH! My hip rival, you should help build up your student's fires of youth! They should never had waned this much. But even so, Naruto-kun's youthfulness is matched by only a few! Tell me rival, what is your secret?"

Kakashi looked at Gai blankly. "Hmm? Did you say something?"

Gai immediately jumped up. "Oh, my rival's attitude is so hip and youthful! I must match it! If I cannot, I shall run five hundred laps around Konoha on my hands!"

"And if Gai-sensei cannot do that, I will do three thousand push ups!"

"And if Lee cannot do that, I will climb the Hokage monument with rocks tied to my back six times!"

WHAM!!

Anko handed the frying pan she had just hit Gai in head with back to Tsunami. "Before we got sidetracked, you were about to tell me the _very_ good reason why you think it's a good idea to send my otouto into the middle of hundreds of bandits who won't hesitate to kill him. Weren't you?" asked Anko, clearly threatening.

Zabuza held up his hands in a warding gesture. He remembered the night before, and wasn't interested in pissing this kunoichi off. "The runt is a one man army. Do you realize just how many **Kage Bunshin** he can make? I've seen him literally make _hundreds_ and still be able to train for several hours. If every clone only takes out one bandit before it dies, that's still hundreds of bandits we don't have to deal with. Not to mention I've seen him heal faster than almost anyone, if one of the bandits do manage to get lucky and get a shot in on the real him. Really, he's our best bet for this to work."

"Hmph," Sasuke grunted. "I don't see why you'd ever want more of him. All he'd be doing is making more useless blonds."

As soon as he finished talking, two cuts appeared on either cheek. Anko and Haku lowered their hands from their throwing position. "If that's all you've got to say, you'd do well to keep your opinions to yourself, _Uchiha_," Anko spat.

"But if you don't, I've been looking for someone for target practice," Tenten grinned.

Normally, this would be the point in time where Sakura would jump in to defend her crush, but right now, she was shaking under the oppressive atmosphere that had descended upon the group.

"Hn."

Sasuke's grunt broke the silence, and the kunoichi accepted that as an agreement.

"We still need a plan for this to work," Haku said softly, bringing the group back to task.

"What's Gato's holdout like?" Anko asked.

"I've only been there a couple times, mainly cause the midget bastard was afraid I'd kill off all his men." Zabuza smiled darkly. "Guess he was right about one thing.

"It's a big bandit camp, but no better organized than any other. Stupid bastards. Most of his forces are surrounding the main complex in a tent city, fairly sprawling and rather poorly defendable. Guess they never thought anyone would be brave enough to attack them head on. They should go down easy enough.

"The main building is several floors, three and a basement. Gato has enough room to hold roughly a hundred men in there, and their fighting from a defensive, fortified position acts as a multiplier, but that's offset by the fact that they'd be fighting mostly in hallways, so their numbers won't mean as much, and that we're actually trained. Any other ninja he's hired will probably be in here as well. Everybody understand?"

Everyone looked at Zabuza with a shocked or dumbfounded expression, barring Haku and Naruto. "What?" the eyebrowless nin snapped. Kakashi regained his speech first.

"I think we're all surprised that a missing nin would be so good at strategy," he said lazily.

Zabuza's eyes narrowed and he placed his hand on Kubikiri Houcho. "Just because I choose to think for myself, doesn't mean I've lost all ability to plan. Before I left Kiri, I was in ANBU and one of the Seven Swordsmen. All that training hasn't gone away. And as for strategy, running from hunter nin forces you to get better at it. Missing nin aren't the idiots you seem to think we are, but if you insult me like that again, I'll cut your fucking head off, Hatake." Everyone was sweating under the killing intent Zabuza had brought to bear, and Kakashi stared at the Demon of the Mist intently before returning his attention to his book. The females gritted their teeth at the sight of the orange novel.

"So, what is our youthful plan?" Gai asked, fairly seriously.

"Leave two of the genin back here to protect your target, Uchiha and Pinky," Zabuza grunted. "Kakashi can stay back here too, just because I know he won't want to leave his precious students alone. Haku, Naruto, the girl with the weapons, and myself can deal with the forces outside. Hyuuga, the spandex twins, and Anko can deal everyone inside. Unless he's moved it, Gato's office is on the top floor. Any prisoners will probably be in the basement. I don't know Konoha's opinion on taking spoils, but I'd say you'd find vaults down there as well. Does everyone approve?"

Several of the group were annoyed at the sight of a nuke-nin taking control of their mission. Kakashi was upset simply because he was the senior jounin on the mission, and in his mind, that meant he should be in charge. He was also fairly certain he could beat the nuke-nin, so that counted in his favor as well. Sasuke (and by extension Sakura) didn't like the nuke-nin's who failed to pay him his proper respect as an Uchiha for the entire time they had been together, and for them to suggest that Haku could beat him was ridiculous. Neji was having similar thoughts; though it was very slightly tempered by the fact that Neji did in fact acknowledge that there were people stronger than him (driven into his head by the fact that Gai continued to pick apart the famed Jyuuken style every time they sparred). Anko didn't mind so much, however, she was slightly worried simply because of who Zabuza was, and what his reputation was. While she was confident in her abilities, she didn't fancy having to fight the former Kiri agent if he turned on them.

Naruto however, knew they wouldn't turn on the group, and was perfectly accepting of when Zabuza took over the planning. The only thing he was worried about was Zabuza saying the wrong thing to his nee-chan and getting a kunai to his throat. Tenten was somewhat wary of Haku, but was too enamored with the fact that she was so close to one of the Seven Swordsmen to be overly concerned. Gai simply wasn't upset with it. For Zabuza to have an apprentice as strong as she was already, his flames of youth must burn as bright as his. And as for control of the mission, Zabuza was the only one with the knowledge needed to get into the unyouthful Gato's stronghold, so it made sense to have him involved in the planning stage. And if Zabuza would help destroy Gato's oppression and help Wave's fires of youth burn once more, Gai was all for it.

"I'm still not sure I want my students going out against something like this," Kakashi drawled. "And it is our mission to protect Tazuna before anything else."

"If you were so worried about us going up against things stronger than us, you wouldn't have abandoned us against the Demon Brothers, would you, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked coldly.

"You did what?" Anko snarled, pushing up her sleeves so she could better beat the Sharingan user.

"I needed to see who they were after," Kakashi answered, slightly nervous.

Naruto smiled evilly, knowing he was about to throw his sensei under the bus. "He didn't warn us about the ambush he saw coming, and when they attacked him first, he let us think he was chopped to pieces before letting us fight someone with poisons as strong as the stuff you use, nee-chan. Never mind that seeing someone who's supposed to protect us be cut down easily could cause us to freeze and _die_. Kind of irresponsible if you ask me." He laughed and scratched the back of his head. "But what do I know, right?"

"Sounds like a good plan," Anko said through gritted teeth as she glared at Kakashi. "We can set up a time once I'm done this." With a terrifying battle cry, Anko proceeded to beat Kakashi into a pulp, dragging him outside at the same time, so as to keep from destroying Tazuna's house.

"All right, I'm gonna go train," Naruto said calmly, as if his sister hadn't just attacked his sensei. "Someone come get me when Anko-nee-chan is done and Kakashi-sensei is able to move again. I'll be on the water."

--

Anko had in fact done just as Naruto had said, and beaten Kakashi within an inch of his life. She had even dosed him with a few paralytic venoms when he tried to get away. Several hours later, the silver-haired jounin was just beginning to move again. Of course, he wasn't sure if he wanted to move our not, considering how much pain the enraged snake-user had put him in.

It was after this that Tenten had gone to go get Naruto from where he was training, following his chakra signature. She wasn't past the rudimentary stages of this skill yet, but she was so familiar with Naruto and he simply gave off so much chakra that it didn't matter. If she didn't know that Naruto could take care of himself, she would be worried about that, but right now, her mind was on other things. Mainly the sight in front of her.

Tenten had stopped just at the edge of the brush, out of sight of anyone who happened to be on the water. Naruto happened to be such a person. He was training on the water, using chakra to keep him from falling in. However, it was obvious he had already done so at some point in his training. It was this that caused Tenten to stop. Naruto had discarded his shirt and pants so they could dry out while he created wave after wave of clones to attack him. He banished them with various combinations of a taijutsu style that didn't really seem to have a style, and ninjutsu.

The sight of Naruto in just his boxers was what had stopped the weapon mistress cold. She remembered how good he looked in his fox form, and apparently, that carried over, if the drool was any indication. Naruto definitely had defined muscles, but he wasn't overly large like Gai-sensei. The water glistened on his skin, making him seem even more appealing, and the gravity seal on his chest drew her attention to the way his muscles tightened and relaxed as he moved through the mass of clones. Tenten was jarred from her fantasies as someone placed their hand on her shoulder.

Haku removed her hand from Tenten's shoulder, showing she meant no harm. "He is fun to watch, but we do need to return," she said with a slight blush betraying her.

"Yeah, we do," Tenten said, '_and yes he is,'_ a blush of her own covering her cheeks.

"Hey, Naruto, we got to get back," Tenten called, moving out of the bushes and into sight. "Your sensei is starting to move again, so we're going to finish up the planning session."

Naruto looked over and saw the two girls coming out of the trees, looked down, and blushed. "Gaak! What are you two doing?" he yelled as he lost concentration, falling in the water once again, mostly hiding his body. "Turn around before someone thinks I'm a pervert!"

"Why would anyone think you were a pervert?" Tenten asked, her voice a slight purr.

Naruto blushed when he heard the question. "I don't know! You barged in on me in my boxers, but I know I'd be the one called a pervert," he grumbled.

"Well, you are a guy," Tenten said, as if it explained everything while she turned around to give Naruto his privacy.

"Yeah, yeah."

--

"So it's agreed? We attack in a week?" Anko asked the group.

"I still say we should do it sooner," Zabuza grumbled. "Get in, kill them all, get out."

This was the argument that was going back and forth for the past thirty minutes. One side wanted to go take them all out, and the other wanted to wait to make sure nothing could go wrong. So far, Zabuza was the only holdout left.

"Just because we have a plethora of jounin, that does not mean we should charge in without a proper plan. There will be genin on this raid, and they do not have proper training in dealing with a mass attack like this," Kakashi said, wincing as he moved in a wrong way, causing one of the injuries that Anko had given him to act up.

"My eternal rival, have you not taught them as well as I have thought you had?" Gai shook his head. "Surely not. My eternal rival would never do something like that."

Kakashi didn't respond.

* * *

**Please read and review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A little shorter than I would have liked, but this is how it turned out. Hope you like it. Please review.**

* * *

The week passed quickly, with Naruto watching Tazuna at the bridge while Sasuke and Sakura mastered the tree climbing exercise. They had both gotten it down a few days ago and were now using it to build their reserves. Naruto privately thought that Sasuke could have mastered it sooner if he had asked Sakura for advice, but then decided there would be no way that Sasuke could remove enough of the stick from his ass that would allow him to go to a girl for help.

Sakura and Sasuke had also figured out that Haku was actually a girl. Gai's team had kept their mouths quiet at her request, but the cat was out of the bag once Sakura walked in of Haku changing. She had complained to Sasuke about it, and Naruto's opinion of the Uchiha dropped once more. It was nothing overt, but Sasuke was now treating Haku slightly less than before he knew she was female. Kakashi had overheard Sakura's gripes, so everyone now knew.

Anko had spent some time tutoring everyone in targeting mass enemies. Many may call her insane (not within her or Naruto's hearing), but it was not denied that she was good at her job. When you gave her someone to kill, they died. End of discussion.

Team Gai had been having an interesting time. Gai continually tried to convince Kakashi to participate in challenges, and even succeeded a few times. Neji proved to be annoying to Naruto with his constant talks of fate and the fact that a dead last (namely Lee and Naruto) could never surpass him. It was all Naruto could do to keep his temper and not punch the Hyuuga in the face.

Tenten and Haku continued to tease Naruto good-naturedly throughout the week, sometimes even getting help from Anko, though Naruto couldn't for the life of him figure out why. He really was dense about these things. However, the girls agreed not to fight between themselves until they could get Naruto to realize that they were making advances. They both knew it could take a while and knew it wouldn't do to kill each other in the meantime. Naruto had come across them during the first argument they had (and really, it was barely able to be called that), and told them not to argue. He didn't want two of his best friends to fight. The duo still thinks it's funny that he didn't realize the argument was over him.

Lee had spent his entire week training and trying to prove himself worthy of Sakura. Naruto tried to talk Lee out of it, but Lee hit him in the head for insulting Sakura, so he didn't push the issue.

Since Anko really had beaten Kakashi, rather than the normal beating perverts received, he was still recovering. He, Sasuke, and Sakura would be staying back to protect Tazuna, much to Sasuke's displeasure.

And tonight, starting at midnight, they would be attacking Gato.

--

"White-eyes in position."

"Snake ready."

"Mist Demon here."

"Ice in position."

"Why don't we just ask if everyone's ready instead of having everyone say so? It gets kinda repetitive."

"Naruto makes a good point. And why'd I have to be 'Pointy'? Couldn't I get a better codename?"

"A most youthful question from my youthful student!"

"Gai, shut up. Yelling won't help with stealth."

"Yes Anko-san."

"Three…two…one…GO!"

The Snake Mistress, the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha, the Demon of the Bloody Mist, the last survivor of the Hyoton Bloodline, Team Gai, and two hundred Naruto clones descended on Gato's fortress with a battle cry that would scare a Kage.

Bandits on the outer wall tried to repel the onslaught with the weapons on hand, but Gato obviously never thought he would be attacked like this, and his forces had no good way to deal with the threat before they reached the wall.

Most of the bandits fell before the ninja reached the wall, fallen by shuriken, senbon, and various thrown weapons. Once the wall was breached, the Naruto clones cut a line through the camp straight through to Gato's stronghold so the assassin team wouldn't have to waste their energy getting there. Once they were in, the clones spread out, taking bandits down as they went.

Zabuza was using Kubikiri Houcho to butcher the bandits. Long cuts decorated the bodies left in his wake, as well as severed heads and limbs. He was having fun. He hadn't had a job like this in a long time. Nuke-nin simply weren't usually hired for jobs like this. More often than not they were protecting the bandits instead of slaughtering them. But Zabuza would do what it took to survive, even if it meant killing people that didn't really deserve killing. But these men definitely deserved it. So he was going to enjoy it while he could.

Haku was using her exceptional knowledge of anatomy to make sure the men died as quickly as possible. Senbon pierced skin and men simply collapsed, dead. Eyes were skewered and arteries were severed. Haku didn't like killing people, but she knew this was needed and these men deserved nothing less than death. Even so, she tried to make it as painless as possible. She didn't like killing, but they would die.

Tenten was throwing weapon after weapon at her foes, piercing vitals with every strike. She unsealed an elegant katana, wanting to save some of her throwing weapons until she got a chance to collect some of the ones she had already used, and began to slice through the horde. The 'samurai' obviously weren't, as Tenten's sword cut through theirs like butter. Tenten wasn't used to killing, her first having only been two months ago or so. It was getting easier to do the actual deed, but that didn't stop the overwhelming urge to vomit once she was safe. Tenten knew she was going to be thinking about this night for months to come. She cut another long slice down a man's chest.

Naruto knew he was the main attack force. Zabuza and Haku-chan could beat this many bandits if they were by themselves and at full strength, but he didn't know about anyone else. And even then, they would be exhausted at the end. However, with his clones, there would be no problems with dealing with the numbers.

"**Hey kit, do you sense that?"**

--

"You two get down to the basements and see if there are any prisoners we need to save, or any coffers we can raid," Anko ordered as her kunai sunk into the base of a bandit's neck. "Neji and I will go after Gato. Move out!"

Anko and Neji sped down the hallway as Gai and Lee disappeared down a staircase. Neji's Jyuuken was decimating the untrained and inebriated men, their corpses lining the halls. Anko hadn't even resorted to using her snake jutsu yet, just taijutsu and kunai. Unlike most people, who used kunai as a distraction and trap weapon, Anko was the rare person who was able to use it as a viable weapon. Her throws were fast and strong enough that most people weren't able to dodge them, and when used in conjunction with the devastating Hebiken taijutsu style, she was deadly.

The duo cut their way through to the center of the fortress. "Can you find the target?" Anko asked.

Activating the Byakugan, Neji quickly searched the rooms for Gato, but there were simply too many people to pick him out properly. "No. There is too much interference. We would have the best luck if we moved our search upwards. The rooms improve in quality as they rise, and it stands to reason that this Gato would believe himself important enough to give himself the best room."

Neji and Anko did just that. Continuing past the numerous bandits and few high Genin-level missing-nin, they tore their way to the top of the tower.

--

"Lee! We must show these misguided men what the Power of Youth can do! **Konoha Senpuu**!"

"Yosh! Gai-sensei! **Konoha Daisenpuu**!"

The bandits of the lower levels were startled by the arrival of the Two Beasts of Konoha. So startled, half their number were slain before they were able to gather their wits enough to react. But by that point, they were too late. Lee and Gai's extraordinary speed and strength had defeated them before they walked through the door.

SMASH!!

The door to the prisoner's cells shattered with the force of the hit used to break it down. The women trapped there shrieked and pressed themselves back against the walls of their cages. They were too well used to men coming in like this, to take them and abuse them. However, they were not expecting someone to save them. They had given up hope long ago.

Gai voice was firm and serious as he spoke. "Lee. Make sure the women are okay. Do not frighten them. I will return shortly. Make sure no one enters but me or one of the others."

The genin could only look at his sensei with wide eyes. He had never seen him so serious. "Hai, Gai-sensei."

As the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha left the room, the mansion echoed with the sounds of dying men, felled for their crimes against humanity.

--

Naruto sniffed the air and caught something strange. _'What is that?'_

"**That would be the scent of a bear demon approaching. Probably coming after you."**

'_What? Why?'_

"**I know I taught you that demons are very territorial. During your leave of absence from your village, you didn't run into any territories I'm not in good standing with. That's why we haven't had this problem before. However, while bear and fox demons aren't currently warring, we certainly won't hesitate to kill any who wander from their lands. Somewhat like the relationship between your village and the one from Earth Country. But now that I think about it, almost all the demons from Earth Country are at peace with my clan, and would probably even help you. Funny how that works out, isn't it?"**

'_Yeah, hysterical,'_ thought Naruto dryly. _'What do I do?'_

"**What is that supposed to mean? Kill it before it kills us, idiot! But I swear to Inari, if you summon me to deal with this incompetent youkai, I will help it stomp the shit out of you. I would like to stretch my limbs more often, but I will not demean myself to attacking something so weak as this. It would be an insult to my power. I see no reason you shouldn't be able to defeat it on your own, at least if you hadn't been raised by such weak creatures such as humans all your life."**

'_HEY! Anko-nee-chan and Ibiki-aniki are not weak! Take that back! And it was a human who beat you and sealed you in me!'_

"**Silence! I will not take back what I said. Humans, on the whole, are weak. There may be a few exceptions, but they are what they are. And as for the human who 'defeated' me, he had nearly his entire village attacking me, and then came after me with the boss of all toad summons. And the only reason I was sealed was because he caught me by surprise. And besides, it was only a temporary defeat."**

'_Wait, temporary? What's that supposed to mean? I thought you died when I die.'_

"**It means what you think it means. I am sealed in you. I will die when you die. I will be sent to hell. However, I will escape from there. I've done it before. The only reason I don't let you die so I may begin my escape is because it would take quite some time to do so, and because I enjoy watching you get the shit kicked out of you."**

'_So you're just keeping me alive because you're lazy?'_

"**Insolent brat! Of course not. I keep you alive because your failures reflect my status. And if I wanted to kill you, all I would have to do would to be flood you with more pure youki than your body can handle. The only reason I don't do that is because it would leave me weakened and it would take me longer to escape hell. I don't want to have to spend time down there when I could be wreaking havoc here."**

'_But wait a second…if you could just escape from hell, why didn't you let us die back when that crazy Blue Hair messed with the seal? Not that I'm really complaining.'_

"**Because, whatever that person did wasn't killing us, it was destroying us completely. I imagine that wasn't what they were after, but mistakes happen, especially in the techniques used by humans. And when dealing with seals, anything can happen. And with that mistake, we wouldn't have died and gone to the afterlife, we would have ceased to exist. That is a fate worse than any other, especially for one like me."**

'_What are you talking about?'_

"**I've lived for longer than you can comprehend. To simply stop existing is the worst thing that could happen to a being like me. This conversation is done. I believe you should be more concerned about the bear demon that's heading for us."**

--

BANG!

The door to Gato's office smashed against the wall as Anko kicked it open. Gato jumped and his two guards were barely able to keep themselves from doing the same as Anko and Neji bounded in.

"What's going on here?" Gato demanded, his short frame rising from his chair. "Who are you?"

"We're your executioners," Anko said coldly.

"What? Waraji! Zori! Kill those two!"

The two swordsmen rushed the duo, but Neji dropped Zori with a Jyuuken strike to the throat and Waraji fell when Anko's kunai pierced his carotid artery.

"You are fated to die here, Gato," Neji proclaimed. "It would be easier if you didn't fight it."

Anko smirked sadistically. "Besides, did you really think you could get away with attacking my otouto? That's just stupid. And for it, I'm gonna kill you."

"If your brother was stupid enough to get in my way, he deserved to die. People need to learn to stay out of my way or they'll die. And what makes you think you can kill me? I've got a whole army at my disposal."

"You are a fool," Neji said. "Fate has declared this to be the day you die, and your men as well. Or had you not heard the sounds of them being slaughtered like the pigs they are? Fate is inescapable, and you will die tonight because that is your fate. It is better just to accept it, than to try to fight."

Anko sneered at the speech. "You know, I don't believe in fate, but he's right about one thing. You're going to die."

Gato was sweating at this point, both from the killing intent in the air and the malice in Anko's tone. His hand shot towards his desk, presumably to activate a trap, but he was pinned to his chair with a kunai through both hands before he could get halfway there. Once Gato was done screaming, and was merely whimpering, Anko spoke again.

"But before you die, you're going to scream for me."

--

"Zabuza!" Naruto yelled over the sounds of the battle. The bandaged nin turned to face him, his sword following his motion, cutting the heads off the bandits in range.

"What? I'm a little busy right now!"

"I'm going to leave my clones here, but I need to go take care of something!" At this point, Naruto had moved close enough to fight with the Demon of the Mist back to back.

"And what's more important than this?"

"The bear demon coming straight for us."

"WHAT?" Zabuza's shriek gave a bandit time enough to get close enough to think he was going to get a good strike in on the ninja before Naruto jammed a kunai in his throat.

"You heard me. I'm going to go fight it; you stay here and make sure we beat these guys. I'm the only one here that will be able to do anything about it."

"What about summoning, I've got the sea serpent contract," Zabuza countered as a mighty swing took out another three bandits.

"We're in the middle of the woods. There's no water for them out here, or at least nothing large enough. Nee-chan has the contract with snakes, but she's dealing with Gato right now and doesn't know about what's coming. I doubt she'll be able to sense it until it's too late. By the time she does, I'll already be fighting it."

"And how do you know this thing's coming if we, trained jounin, can't sense it?"

Naruto answered with a look that said Zabuza was being an idiot. "Hanyou, remember?"

"But my next question is how you plan on stopping me from following you? I'm not about to back down from a fight like this."

As Naruto turned to answer, a bandit caught a lucky break and struck Naruto in the side of the head, leaving only smoke behind.

'_Right, __**Kage Bunshin**__. I can't believe I had that whole conversation with a clone.'_ Zabuza went back to destroying the bandits with ruthless efficiency.

--

Tenten panted as last of the current wave of bandits fell. She had been on missions to destroy bandit camps before, but this was nothing like those missions. Those missions had her providing long-range support while her teammates took out the bandits head on. Here, there were so many that she couldn't do that. She would eventually be overtaken if she tried that. The next wave of bandits started advancing towards her, but she made no moves to meet them. None of them had any long-range weapons, so she could just wait for them to get to her before taking them out, save her energy.

"**Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishou**!"

The hunter masked Haku landed nimbly next to Tenten, who to her credit, didn't start at the sudden appearance of the ice user. "You appeared to be tired, and I was close enough to render assistance," Haku explained softly, saying a silent prayer for the bandits she had just killed.

Tenten looked out at the wave of ninja who had just fallen to one attack. There were one or two still standing, but they looked like pincushions, and she threw a kunai to put them out of their misery. "Thanks," Tenten said sincerely. She may be competing with her for Naruto's affections, but she wasn't going to turn down help on the battlefield.

The kunoichi duo looked at each other, nodded, and dove back into the fray.

--

Kyuubi had informed him that the brown four-tailed fox would be more than strong enough to deal with incoming bear demon. Chairomaru was large, but definitely not the size of the boss summons. Of course, nothing below a seven-tailed fox was, but that was beside the point.

Naruto could smell the bear demon getting closer. It seemed to have sped up, spurned on by the fact that its target was moving towards it. Chairomaru was moving quicker, anticipation of a good fight making the fox anxious.

It was only moments before the two combatants could see each other. Naruto released his gravity seal and showed his true form, his chakra, now that it wasn't being suppressed, like a beacon for anyone trained to sense it.

The traditional staring match lasted only seconds. Naruto didn't want to waste any time getting back to his friends, and the bear youkai seemed to sense it couldn't prove its dominance in this method.

The bear lunged, but its speed was no match for Chairomaru. The demon spud, surprisingly quickly, and swiped at the summon with its claws. Chairomaru shifted, and landed a strike of his own.

"What is our plan, Naruto-sama?" the large kitsune asked, the rumbling voice powerful in Naruto's sensitive ears.

"Keep that thing from getting out of control, and get me close. I'm going to try to blind it if I can get close enough to its eyes."

"Very well, Naruto-sama. **Kitsune-bi**!"

The flame attack interrupted whatever the bear was about to do, and from the looks of it, Naruto decided he didn't want to be hit by it. However, as the bear didn't seem to be charging it up again, it looked like it was either a one-time use, or the bear didn't have enough energy for it to be used again. Attacks were exchanged a few more times, Chairomaru's speed making up for the bear's superior strength, and Naruto was in position. He leapt from Chairomaru's head and drew two poison-coated kunai Anko had given him from his thigh pouch. The two kunai flew a moment later, and Naruto started familiar hand signs. "**Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

The poisoned weapons and their clones peppered the eyes of the demon. The bear roared in pain as it reared back on its hind legs. Chairomaru took his chance and sunk his teeth in the bear's throat. "**Kitsune-bi**!"

The attack burned through and torched the neck and head of the bear youkai. To make sure he got the job done right, the fox summon ripped the demon's throat out as he withdrew.

'_Hey fuzzy, you don't sense any other demons coming towards us, do you?'_

"**No, and now that you've killed the first one that came after you, they probably won't be as eager to come after you. You might have to fight another one before you leave, but as you just saw, bears are slow and stupid, so you shouldn't have to work that hard to beat them."**

"Naruto-sama, do you need my assistance in getting back to your friends?" Chairomaru rumbled, looking longingly at the bear carcass in front of him.

Naruto scratched his head. "Well, it would kind of help, but I don't _need_ your help. I can do it myself. Why?"

Chairomaru nodded slightly at the bear, and Naruto got the point. "Oh! Yeah, if you're hungry, go ahead and eat. It's not like there's a whole lot else it's good for now anyway, right?"

Chairomaru chuckled slightly. "Indeed, Naruto-sama. Call on me whenever you need assistance."

Naruto nodded, and sped off towards the bandit camp, reactivating his illusion and gravity seals as he went.

--

"You go down and make sure Gai and Lee are doing okay on their own. Help them if they need it," Anko said as she incinerated the body of Gato. "I'm going outside to help finish off the rest of the bandits."

"Was that truly necessary?" Neji asked, his face more than slightly green. Only his practice at suppressing his reaction kept him from throwing up.

"Yes. He touched a member of my family. You didn't have to stay." Without elaborating, Anko jumped out of the window, flipping into the battle below.

Neji nodded, even though he knew there was no way she would have seen him, and started down towards the basement.

When he arrived, having been only slightly slowed by the bandits, as most had already been taken care of, he was greeted by a sight that made him turn green once more.

Bodies had been kicked through walls, limbs had been horribly broken, to the point that Neji was feeling phantom pains thinking about it, and even a few corpses had had their skulls broken so that their heads were now merely misshapen lumps. Others were lying with their heads at unnatural angles, telltale sign of their broken necks. One or two were even embedded in the concrete wall that was the foundation, blood slowly dripping out around the bodies. However, even with all the weapons strewn around the rooms, they made none of the injuries to the bandit's corpses. Someone had done this with their bare hands. With the distant echo of "**Konoha Senpuu**," Neji knew immediately who had done this.

Neji activated his Byakugan once more, and scouted out Lee's position. The Hyuuga made his way swiftly towards his teammate, not wanting to see any more of Gai's wake than he needed.

--

Anko sliced her way through the hordes of bandits that were still fighting. Their number had decreased drastically, but that didn't mean much when they had started out with nearly a thousand men.

But then again, Anko hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Usually, she was interrogating someone with Ibiki, or out on an assassination mission that had to be quiet and clean. It had been a long time since she had had a chance to really cut loose and get rid of a bandit camp like this one.

'_And I just found a way to make this a whole lot more fun…'_

"Oi! Zabu-chan!"

"What?" he snapped back, annoyance at the name clearly coming through in the form of killing intent, enough so that a few of the bandits around him collapsed.

"I bet I can take down more bandits than you!"

"You wish!"

"Scared?"

"No way! You're on!"

"Starting now!"

--

As Anko and Zabuza were starting their morbid contest, the real Naruto was arriving back on the battlefield. A hundred more **Kage Bunshin** popped into existence, supplementing the ones who had been destroyed over the course of the battle (only a few remained at this point) and frightening the bandits that were still left.

"There're more of them!"

"Just hit 'em before they get you! They turn to smoke!"

"Aah!"

The bandits were somewhat heartened by the fact that it only took a solid hit to disperse one of Naruto's clones, but the clones were still taking down at least three before they were hit at all.

One bunch of bandits had circled up and were making it hard for his clones to get inside. The outside ring was protecting the inside where several archers and crossbowman were firing. Naruto got a boost from two of his clones, and threw a trio of shuriken down at the clustered bandits. "**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

Several of the bandits fell to that jutsu, and the rest were distracted enough for his clones to slay. Naruto waved his hand, allowing some of the clones to disperse, he needed to keep his energy, and he couldn't do that maintaining so many clones.

Naruto started to go through handseals as his clones covered him, this was a technique he still hadn't quite mastered, and needed his concentration to get right. "**Katon: Karyuudan**!"

The fire dragon flew from Naruto's mouth, and soared through the bandits surrounding him, burning them severely, having had no experience with shielding their bodies with chakra, and taking out several clones as well.

Naruto coughed and hissed, clutching his throat, having burnt it with the jutsu. The only reason he didn't blow his head off when using the technique was because of his kitsune half. Fire was their natural element, and in time, he would be able to use it well, but currently, whenever Naruto attempted a fire technique of that strength, he would end up burning himself (he knew he should start small and build up, but Naruto didn't use many fire jutsu, and wanted the ones he did to mean something). It only made sense, his natural affinities being wind, with a secondary and weaker affinity to water.

Naruto would have done another technique, one that didn't require him burning his throat, but excluding summoning, which he really didn't want to use again so soon (and he didn't want to take the risk of Gai, Lee, or Neji seeing it and having to come up with a story as to why he could summon foxes), Naruto didn't know any technique that could do as much damage as that one. The elemental dragon jutsu were widely considered some of the strongest non-kinjutsu around, simply for intimidation and sheer striking power. With enough control over the technique, as user could make the elemental dragons chase their foes, but that required an almost constant flow of chakra to the technique, plus jounin level control. However, once mastered to that point, an average sized bandit camp could be taken out with only a single use.

However, Naruto didn't know any of the other elemental dragon techniques. The earth dragon was a technique that he could probably learn fairly easily, but if it was in his family library, he hadn't found it, and if it wasn't, he didn't know anyone who did know it. His sensei might, but there was no way Kakashi would give Naruto a jounin level jutsu. He hadn't even bothered to teach them tree climbing until now! The wind dragon was one of Suna's most guarded secrets, so well protected and well protected, that before their massacre, not even the Uchiha had copied it. The lightening dragon was almost as secret as the wind dragon, though it was rumored to be the absolute hardest to control. The water dragon was the one Naruto was currently trying to get his hands on, but Zabuza wouldn't teach it to him. He 'wanted the runt to get a few more lower level jutsu under his belt before blowing his head off with that one'. He wouldn't even contemplate teaching Naruto the **Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu** yet; not that Naruto hadn't asked.

So the fire dragon was what it had to be.

Bandits screamed as the fire dragon tore through their ranks, destroying the last of them. Naruto's control faltered, and the jutsu dissipated into a cloud of ash. The others of the assault team, having been drawn by the fire, closed in just as the jinchuuriki collapsed from exhaustion.

"Naruto-kun!" Haku and Tenten cried as they saw the blonde succumb to exhaustion, rushing to his side faster than they had been.

"Body counts anyone?" Zabuza asked. "There were more than we thought. I ended up with somewhere around two fifty or so."

"All told, about one twenty," Anko mused. "But there weren't as many inside as there were out here. And I spent some time with Gato too." Her face darkened as a sadistic smirk crossed her face and everyone knew what happened.

"One hundred fifty," Haku said quietly.

"Almost a hundred," Tenten muttered, annoyed that she was on the bottom of the totem pole.

"The rest," Naruto said as he gave a shuddering yawn, "and a bear demon." He closed his eyes, and fell asleep, leaving the others to wonder what Naruto meant by that, Zabuza being the only one he told.

--

Lee was working to keep the captive women calm, though with his over the top reactions to things, he wasn't helping very much. Neji had only recently arrived on the scene, and could tell that Lee needed help.

In more ways than one, but he wasn't a psychiatrist.

Neji swiftly maneuvered into the room, having picked the keys off of a nearby corpse (thanks to his Byakugan), and unlocked the cells the women were being kept in. Lee had apparently tried to break the steel bars with his fists after he couldn't find the keys. However, without opening the Gates, which he hadn't gotten around to apparently, Lee wasn't quite strong enough. Several of the bars were quite bent, but none were shattered.

The women they let out thanked him profusely, and Lee as well, though not as much as him, most likely because Lee had been crowing about the power of youth as he punched steel bars with his bandage-covered hands.

However, one door had been rather irreversibly damaged by Lee's strikes. The lock itself had been bent out of shape, and the key no longer worked because of it. Lee wasn't getting any closer to breaking the stubborn steel, and Neji knew Lee was stronger than he was. Neji hated admitting that Lee was superior to him in any way, but Neji knew it didn't matter nearly as much as one might think. After all, Lee had yet to beat him in a fight, and was getting no closer, so Neji relaxed for a moment. He knew that if Lee ever beat him, he would never hear the end of it.

"My students! Why have you not escorted these ladies outside? Surely you know that would be a better place for them than this!"

Gai had arrived.

"Gai-sensei! These unyouthful bars are keeping us from freeing the last of the captives!" Lee wailed, expecting Gai to punish him for his failure.

"Do not let your flames of youth dim, Lee! I will free them!"

Meanwhile, everyone else in the room was sweatdropping massively.

Gai suddenly appeared in front of the broken door, and hit it with an open hand strike that blasted the steel door into the opposite wall, illustrating truly how large the gap was between student and teacher.

"Please follow us, and we will get you far away from this most unyouthful environment!"

--

"Gai! Over here!" Anko called.

The Green Beast of Konoha immediately led his group over to where the others had congregated. Naruto was still on the ground, no one having picked him up yet. The others were standing around him in a loose circle.

"Great, we can get this done with now," Zabuza said. He looked at the women who had followed Gai out. "Haku." The kunoichi immediately moved over to them, checking their visible wounds and pulling gauze and salves from her med-pouch.

"Gai, get Naruto and those two back to Tazuna's. Tenten and Haku can get the captives to the doctor's in town. Girls, treat them here only if necessary, they don't need to be around here any longer than it takes them to get out of here." True to Anko's words, all of the women who had been captives were looking green, and most had already thrown up at the sight of so many corpses. "Zabu-chan and I will clean up the bodies." Zabuza growled at the nickname once again, while Anko just smirked happily.

Gai leapt off, Naruto slung over his shoulder, with Neji and Lee following. Haku and Tenten quickly lead the women towards the town, leaving Zabuza and Anko alone.

"You do know a decent fire jutsu right? I kept you around because I figured you did, you know? That, and if I didn't I'd be stuck with Gai, and there's no way I could be stuck with him for that long."

Zabuza gave Anko of severe understanding. He had gotten stuck with Gai once during the week, watching the bridge, and there was no way he was going to let that happen to him again, and he completely understood anyone who felt the same way.

"You do remember that I was once an ANBU Captain, right? I had to know a few to get rid outposts and bodies. Just because I'm from Kiri people think all I know are water techniques," he muttered the last to himself.

Zabuza and Anko both created a few clones each, sent them out to start collecting bodies, and got to work burning the corpses they piled up.

--

Naruto groaned as his eyes flickered open. The only spot of sun coming in the room was shining right in his eyes. He flopped his arm over his face, blocking the light, and heard the shuffling of someone moving over to where he was waking up. Taking a quick sniff, he greeted, "Hey Ten-chan."

"What were you thinking last night?" the weapon mistress questioned, getting right down to the point.

"What, not going to ask me if I'm okay?" Naruto asked sleepily.

Tenten frowned, not that he could see it. "I already know you're fine. You were only down for a case of chakra and physical exhaustion, and all the cuts and bruises you got last night are already healed, or mostly anyway." Her tone grew angrier. "So what the hell were you thinking when you went off to go fight with a bear demon last night?! And without telling anyone!"

"I did tell someone, I told Zabuza. I couldn't see any of the rest of you, and I didn't know if a clone could get to you without being hit. So I told him, and then I told everyone else just before I passed out. Speaking of which, how'd I get back?"

"Gai-sensei carried you. But that's not the point. What made you think you could take on a bear demon by yourself, you baka?"

Naruto just waved his hand and resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep any time soon. "Anyone with a decent summon could have beaten that thing. Besides, it was after me. Heading straight for us. I didn't want anyone to get caught underfoot when we started the fight. Anko-nee-chan probably could have beaten it with one of her snakes, but she didn't know it was coming, and she was busy inside."

Tenten shook her head. "I'm still mad at you for doing something so stupid, so don't think I'm not. And I know Haku and your sister aren't happy about it. You're going to be dodging kunai for a while."

Naruto hung his head, knowing he had been beat. But he wouldn't go down without a fight. They would have to chase him down to get him. Changing the subject, he asked, "Did anything happen to my team while they were back here?"

Tenten shook her head. "Nobody attacked it that's what you're asking. However," she chuckled, "you wouldn't know that looking at the Uchiha."

"Why, what happened?" While Naruto didn't like Sasuke, he was his teammate, and as such, didn't like things happening to his teammates. Unless he was the cause of it, of course.

"He apparently said something that Gintoku took offense to, and your fox scratched the hell out of him. His arms and face look like Tora the cat got at them." The two shared a laugh over that. The Daimyo's wife's cat was universally recognized as the worst D-rank mission in Konoha. There simply was no mission worse. And every ninja in Konoha knew it. Some even speculated that that mission was the reason Konoha ninja were so strong. You had to be to get that damn cat.

"I'll have to make sure he gets a nice fat rabbit for that," Naruto chuckled. "So everything else was okay?"

"Sure, if you don't count the Uchiha pouting over what he sees as being left behind, or Sakura moaning that 'her precious Sasuke-kun' isn't getting every single thing he wants. Not in those words, but that's what it amounts to."

Naruto opened his mouth to continue the conversation, but stopped and blushed as his stomach let out a deafening grumble. Tenten just laughed. "Fine, we can go get some food."

--

After cleaning up the bodies, Zabuza and Anko raided the vault below Gato's fortress. There was enough money there to pay for the advanced mission costs, even with the extra team, and there was still plenty left over. It was decided that everything that was leftover after mission fees would go back to the people of Wave. The reason for this was twofold. One, most of it belonged to them in the first place. Second, it was likely that Wave would be using Konoha for all their missions in the foreseeable future, and it would make it easier on everyone if they had the money to pay for them.

The Konoha teams stayed in Wave for another two and a half weeks, helping Tazuna finish the bridge. Naruto didn't have to fight any more demons, much to his relief. He didn't have any doubt that he could win, but he didn't fancy his chances against Haku, Tenten, and his sister afterwards. They had already nearly killed him once.

It was decided not to tell anyone who didn't know about his hanyou status about his defeating the bear youkai. Their mission was to take out Gato and destroy the bandit camp. There was nothing in there about killing a bear demon. As it had nothing to do with the mission, they decided it would be better if no one knew about it. After all, if no one else knew about it, no one could leak it to the council, who had been looking for a reason to 'do away with the demon' for years. And though he trusted his fellow Konoha shinobi, his hanyou status wasn't something he wanted anyone outside his 'family' to know about.

The people of Wave were especially grateful to the Konoha nin when they assisted in finishing the bridge. Sasuke opted out under the banner that he had to train, while Kakashi stayed and observed him. Sakura tried to join them, however, Kakashi suggested that she stay with Tazuna after showing her the water walking exercise to practice. Sakura agreed, not wanting to go against her sensei, but did so with no small amount of pouting. Naruto and Gai were barely able to hold Anko back from killing her for that reason alone. Team Gai helped because it was apparently the 'youthful thing to do'. Neji claimed that he did it only because it would be dishonorable for a Hyuuga not to help someone when they needed it. Naruto thought Neji was being an arrogant prick that needed shut up and get back to work. Anko and Zabuza spent most of their time supervising, mainly because everyone was too scared of them to tell them to do anything else.

Naruto was the real savior. Though most of the able bodied men turned out to help build the bridge, it still wasn't enough to get the bridge done as soon as Tazuna liked. Naruto solved this problem through judicious use of**Kage Bunshin**, creating countless copies of himself. Doing that every day, they were able to finish the bridge in much less time than what they were expecting, and they were able to get on the road to recovery a lot sooner. Though he wasn't referred to as such to his face, or around any of the other ninja, Naruto became known as the "Hero of Wave", for allowing them to finish so much sooner and generally lifting their spirits.

The morning the Konoha group was leaving, almost the entire village came out to see them off. Everyone was waving, and Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari were at the front of the crowd. Naruto and friends stood at the edge of the bridge, departing slowly, shouting good-byes to the people they had gotten to know.

As the group faded from view, Inari was wiping the tears from his eyes, even though Naruto had told him it was okay to cry when you're happy. "So what are we going to name our bridge?" he asked, no one having decided on one yet. There was a general consensus, but nothing official, and the main reason they hadn't decided on one was because they didn't want anyone to get a big head over it.

"The Super Amazing Bridge Tazuna Made!" the bridge builder proclaimed comically.

"NO!" the village protested.

The image of the person who had defeated the bandits, gotten Inari to believe in heroes once more, and raised their spirits afterwards flashed in Tsunami's mind. There was only one choice in her mind. "The Great Naruto Bridge," she said simply. There was much murmuring to the affirmative, and it was decided.

The Great Naruto Bridge was born.

--

The worst thing about traveling, Naruto decided, was that after a while, conversation stopped. They were running through the trees, making good time back to Konoha. He knew they were ninjas, but would it hurt them to talk at least a little bit? Even Gintoku was being quiet.

"So, what's everyone going to do when we get back to Konoha?" he asked hesitantly. Even though he thought it was too quiet, Naruto didn't want to be the one to break the silence.

"The first thing I'm going to do is take a real bath to get all this grime off me," Sakura said. "I haven't felt properly clean since we left Wave. Rivers were not meant for getting clean in."

It was only through great strength of will and years of living with Naruto that Anko was able to keep herself from throwing a kunai at the pink haired girl.

"Actually Sakura," Kakashi noted, "the first thing any of us will be doing is turning in our mission evaluations."

"I imagine the first thing I'm going to do is be confronted by a squad of ANBU," Zabuza mused.

"I doubt it. You're with me, and most of the ANBU stay away from me," Anko said with a smirk.

Now, Naruto was generally the last person anyone in Konoha went to about anything romantic. He was famous not only as the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, but also as the most romantically dense person in the history of the village. However, even with as dense as he was, he could see that Anko had been flirting with Zabuza. Normally, whenever his sister flirted with anyone, they generally ran for the hills, trying to get away from the crazy lady, however, Naruto knew Zabuza, and he knew Zabuza wouldn't back down from something like this. However, Naruto also wasn't sure how he would feel if the two got together. He knew it wasn't really his business, but dammit, he would make it his business if anything happened to hurt either one of them!

Naruto stopped and looked behind him. Apparently, the group had stopped while he was musing, and Lee and Gai were currently hugging with the infamous sunset genjutsu behind them. Naruto quickly covered his eyes. He had learned that unless you physically cover your eyes, it was almost impossible to look away. Almost like a train wreck. You want to stop watching, but you just can't.

--

As the group neared the gates a day later, a pair of ANBU leapt down in front of them. The one in the monkey mask was first to talk. "Momochi Zabuza, we have been ordered to escort you and your apprentice to the Hokage. Do not make any sudden moves or that which may be seen as hostile."

Kakashi waved his hand. "Maa, there's no need for that. We've got more than enough jounin here to deal with Zabuza if he gets out of hand. But if you really want, you can always walk with us."

The ANBU agreed silently, and followed along, sticking to the shadows. Not that Zabuza couldn't detect them. He scowled under his bandages. To some it may have seemed that Kakashi had just diffused a potentially difficult situation, but Zabuza just saw that the copy-nin still didn't trust him. He was a former ANBU captain, and he probably could have made the two others just go away, there was no reason for them to be added to his honor guard. Haku's thoughts were also forming along the same lines; however, she also realized that Kakashi felt the need to protect his village over making them feel comfortable.

It was only a short time before they reached the Hokage Tower, where the entire group was quickly escorted to the Hokage's office. The secretary frowned at Naruto, who merely ignored it, but Anko glared back. The prudish woman quickly turned back to her work.

The mission reports were quickly placed on Sarutobi's desk, and they all stood at attention while the aged Hokage looked them over. Normally, mission reports were handed in downstairs, but for a mission like this one, where they were bring back a missing-nin alive, one who wanted to join their ranks, and since they were all already in there, they gave them straight to the person who would ultimately receive them.

"Zabuza," the Sandaime finally spoke, "why do you want to join Konoha?"

Zabuza chose his words carefully. Normally, he was brash, but even with his advanced age; the Professor was considered one of the most dangerous shinobi in the world. He didn't need to say anything that would get himself killed. "I'm tired of running from the hunters. And I don't want that kind of life for Haku."

"No, that's why you wish to no longer be a missing-nin. Why do you want to join Konoha? I understand the new village of Otogakure has a much more open policy towards missing-nin."

Zabuza grumbled, but only slightly. "…Naruto. If I hadn't known him I never would have thought about joining your village."

Sarutobi nodded. "He has that effect on people. Just recently he convinced my student Tsunade to return."

"Anko told me about that. For all as loud as the runt is, he doesn't talk a whole lot about what he's actually pulled off."

"HEY!"

"Don't get upset Naruto," Sarutobi interrupted. "That's actually a good skill to have, the ability to talk without saying anything. It can be a very effective distraction."

"Ha! Take that Sasuke-teme! I've got a skill you don't! I know you don't cause you never talk that much anyway."

Kakashi deflated Naruto quickly. "Of course, knowing when to not say anything at all is important as well." Naruto's good mood swiftly fled.

"Naruto! Do not let your fires of youth dim so quickly!" Gai exclaimed. "My eternal rival's hip attitude is something I have not yet duplicated, but that does not stop me from working hard!"

"Yosh! Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

The Hokage's throat clearing brought the duo out of the hug just before the sunset genjutsu appeared, something they were all grateful for. Especially Naruto. It had caught him more than anyone else during the Wave mission.

Sarutobi spent the next half hour hearing exactly what happened during the mission. He appeared upset that Anko had beat Kakashi so badly, but understood her reasons. He also disapproved of the copy-nin's method of information gathering, but thought what she had done was over the top. Fortunately for her, it didn't affect their mission too drastically; otherwise, Anko would have been catching Tora the cat for the next month.

Upon hearing what conditions the women in the basement had been kept in, Sarutobi knew he had made the right decision in sending people in to destroy Gato. Not only did he have the stranglehold on Wave's economy, but people of that kind of evil didn't need to be alive. He wished he could have sent a more experienced team on the mission, but there was no way he could have. Resources would have been stretched too thin to adequately prepare for the Chuunin exams, and more teams would have just taken longer to get out there. Not to mention there's no way of knowing how they would deal with working alongside a nuke-nin, especially one with Zabuza's reputation.

Once Sarutobi heard the numbers on the body count, he was concerned. Not just for Naruto, but for all of them. Normally destroying a bandit camp meant killing a total of a hundred at the most. Not over a thousand people. Sarutobi wished he had sent at least another chuunin along just to help out with that. But he wasn't so worried about that as the psychological ramifications. Zabuza would be fine, as would Anko and Gai, but the Genin would probably be having trouble sleeping over killing that many people, no matter what kind of people they were. He would make sure to check up on them.

Sarutobi broke from his thoughts and addressed the group in front of him. "Zabuza, you and Haku will be allowed to join my shinobi. I know you are jounin level, and based off what I've heard, I have no problem placing Haku at the rank of chuunin. You can expect to be watched for the foreseeable future, but as long as you don't do anything that breaks the laws of the village, you won't have to worry."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Zabuza and Haku said in unison. They both knew it was a much better deal than they would get in some other villages.

Sarutobi's face hardened. "But know this. If you hurt any of my people, I will come after you personally."

The former Kiri duo gulped audibly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter. Enjoy, and please review. It makes things easier on me if you do.**

* * *

Kakashi had given them the day off as they walked out of the Hokage Tower, telling them to rest up after a long mission. Sasuke walked off, presumably to train, with Sakura not far behind. Anko wanted to track down her friend Kurenai, so she leapt off in the direction of Training Ground Eight. Gai invited Naruto, Zabuza, and Haku out to a post mission celebration with his team. It wasn't as if they had anything better to do. 

When they got to the restaurant, the hostess tried to glare at Naruto, but was quelled by a look from Gai. They made their way over to a table, but were stopped by a cry of "Naruto-kun!" from a familiar voice.

The jinchuuriki spun around and saw Ino waving at him from a booth where she was sitting with her team. "Hey Ino-chan! What're you doing here?" he asked as he excused himself from his group and walked over.

"Can't a girl have lunch with her team?" Ino asked in a hard voice. When Naruto covered his head to fend off the impending blow, she waved her hand. "I'm just teasing, Naruto-kun." Ino placed her hand on his arm to try to relax him, and she felt a tickle of killer intent. She looked over Naruto's shoulder. "Who're they?" she asked bluntly.

Naruto looked back to see exactly who she was talking about. "Oh, that's Tenten-chan's team. Zabuza is the one with the big sword and Haku-chan is the pretty girl with black hair."

"Not Momochi Zabuza, former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and A-ranked missing-nin?" Asuma asked around his cigarette.

"Yeah, but don't worry about that. He's not a nuke-nin anymore. The old man already said they could join Konoha," Naruto explained with a satisfied smile.

Asuma nodded, but mentally resolved to question his father about it. "We were just about to leave, but what are you doing with Gai's team? I thought you were with Kakashi?"

"Yeah, and we just got back from our mission. We got sent reinforcements because we ended up having to take down this _huge_ bandit camp. Kakashi-sensei just told us we had tomorrow off and walked off with his porn book. And Sakura just followed Sasuke-teme wherever he went."

"Don't say bad things abou–" Ino stopped her arm mid-swing and her face colored. "Sorry. Force of habit. I'm working on though."

"It's okay Ino-chan," Naruto reassured as he gave her a fox grin. Ino melted.

"Thanks Naruto-kun. I'll see you tomorrow," Ino said.

Naruto's eyebrow quirked. "I will?"

Ino's face furrowed in annoyance as she picked up her stuff to leave. "You owe me a date for watching your plants for you while you were on that mission."

"Oh yeah! I guess I will see you tomorrow. What time should I pick you up?"

By this time, Ino was at the door, Naruto was back with the group he came in with, and they were calling across the room to each other. "Drop by the flower shop at lunch time and we'll take it from there."

Naruto nodded and sat down. Haku and Tenten had strategically maneuvered the group so the only empty seat was between the two of them. Naruto seemed oblivious to this fact. "Who was that?" Haku asked in a cool voice.

"Oh, that was Ino-chan, she's been one of my friends since I was little," Naruto explained.

"You're still kinda little, Naruto-kun," Tenten teased, taking a jab at the jinchuuriki's height.

"Hey!"

Haku ignored Naruto's indignation. "So what was that about picking her up for lunch?"

Naruto nodded his head as the waitress set down his drink. "I'm taking her out because she took care of my plants," he explained in a quiet voice, not wanting it to get to be common knowledge in case a foolish villager decided to try something against a 'demon-lover'. Ino was more than capable of handling herself, but it would be better if the situation never happened to start with. And Zabuza was watching Gai and Lee's antics, while Neji was trying to block all of them out.

"Just as a repayment for helping you out?" Tenten asked, the hope in her voice barely concealed.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's a date," Naruto said happily, and both girls' faces fell.

Naruto looked up and saw the dark clouds surrounding his friends. "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing!" the kunoichi said in unison, their answers coming too fast and their voices a pitch too high for it to be a truthful reply, but Naruto didn't seem to notice. He just nodded happily and went back to his meal without a care in the world. He never noticed the girls resolve grow strong as they recognized their new competition. They had accepted that they would be going against each other, but now there was someone new in the mix.

--

"Quick, get him!"

"Ow!"

"Pin him down!"

"Ugh!"

"For Gai-shenshei!"

"Owowow!"

"You gotta be kidding me!"

The celebratory meal was going smoothly for quite a while until it happened. The waitress wasn't even nasty to Naruto. It would have been a great way to end a day if Lee hadn't picked up the wrong bottle. Lee had grabbed Gai's sake bottle instead of his own drink. Lee was now smashing the restaurant to bits, all in the name of Gai-sensei. The fact that Gai was yelling at him to stop didn't seem to make it through his alcohol-addled senses.

"Haku!" Zabuza called, in a last ditch effort to stop the green blur.

The ice-nin called on her bloodline, creating a series of ice mirrors around the room. Lee stopped for a moment to give another drunken call, and Haku let fly a series of senbon from each mirror. Most of them missed, accidentally perforating Naruto instead, but one hit its mark, paralyzing Lee. Gai dashed forward, fingers striking a nerve cluster, and caught Lee's body as he fell unconscious.

"I apologize my comrades," Gai said in his eerily serious voice. "I had no knowledge Lee was a natural Suiken fighter. I will make sure he gets home okay. And fear not, I promise to pay for all damages to your establishment," he promised the manager who just came out, striking the "Nice Guy" pose.

The manager quickly blinked away the blindness caused by Gai's teeth ping, and nodded. "Fine. Now get out of my restaurant!"

The group beat a hasty retreat, as even the hardest missing-nin knew not to stay around when a chef was mad at you. They each leapt off in the direction of their respective homes, though Zabuza and Haku were a bit confused as to where they would stay. The Hokage hadn't given them an apartment (not that they expected him to), and they weren't about to sleep in the woods.

"Haku, do we have enough money for a hotel?" Zabuza asked. While he may have been one of the most powerful shinobi in the Elemental Countries, he wasn't allowed to be in charge of the money. He was bad for impulse buying, and Haku knew it. She had taken control of their finances at an early age. Haku sighed.

"We have enough for week at most, and only if they are cheap. Otherwise, about five nights worth."

"What?" Naruto asked as he overheard. "You guys can stay with me if you need to. I've got plenty of room."

"We wouldn't want to be an imposition…" Haku trailed off. Zabuza nudged her, subtly saying that he had no problem being an imposition.

"Nonsense! You're staying with me, and that's final! There's no reason you should pay for a hotel when I have a place for you to stay. If you want, you can move out once you find an apartment of your own, but I don't think you will, cause my house is _awesome!_ Come on! And make sure you remember what way I show you so you don't get hit by the traps!" Naruto was already halfway down the street before they registered all of what he said.

--

Ibiki was waiting for Naruto in the kitchen when the trio got to the house. "Am I going to have to worry about you bringing back strays every time you leave the village for more than a week?" He asked dryly when he saw Zabuza and Haku.

"Hey, I tried to get them to come back with me when I first met them but they wouldn't do it. So I had to get them this time." Naruto grinned impudently.

Ibiki shook his head. "So, you're going to be living here? There should be some rooms on the second floor that you can have. I expect Naruto will give you the tour later on."

Zabuza looked taken aback. "What, you're letting us live here just like that?"

Ibiki didn't flinch. "Technically, this is Naruto's clan house. If it really came down to it, I have no real say in whether or not you live here. Besides, Naruto is an excellent judge of character. If he is going to let you live here, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But don't think for a second, Demon of the Mist, that that means I trust you. I just know that if you've gotten this far, you've already gotten the approval of Anko, and Hokage-sama knows you're here."

"He has accepted us as Konoha shinobi," Haku said quietly.

Ibiki sent her a look that stated, 'Do you really think that makes you trust you any more?'

Haku flinched first.

Zabuza growled at Ibiki, who backed off only when Naruto started frowning at him. "It's still interesting to see Konoha's top interrogator living with the little brat I found chasing rabbits in the woods," Zabuza said conversationally, though everyone knew it was just to get attention away from Haku.

Ibiki just grunted in acknowledgement of his nin status, it didn't surprise him that Zabuza knew who he was. In truth, Zabuza was a treasure trove of missing-nin information. Unlike most nuke-nin, who just tried to stay alive after leaving their village, Zabuza made sure to have up-to-date copies of every nation's bingo book. Naruto had even heard a few stories where Zabuza had been able to buy off hunters with information about nin who had scorned him in the past.

Naruto saw the opportunity to diffuse the situation, and did so immediately by pulling Zabuza and Haku from the room, on the premise of a tour of the house. He showed them where the laundry was, the bathroom, and the bedrooms Ibiki had mentioned.

"And finally, this is the most important room of the house, my room!" Naruto spread his arms and posed dramatically as he swung the door open. A large bed was the focal point of the room, flanked by two nightstands. There was a door leading to a private bath along the sidewall, and a mirror and dresser opposite it. Clothes were scattered around the room haphazardly, but Naruto didn't seem to care. Haku made a mental note to try to get Naruto to clean up, being a good practice in the field, especially when you're being tracked; Zabuza didn't seem to notice at all.

The trio eventually ended their tour, but only after Zabuza insulted Naruto's room, and they got in a fight, bringing them to where they were now, outside at Naruto's favorite training spot, right behind his house, but far enough away that no large scale jutsu would hit the house.

Zabuza and Naruto were going to duke it out to see who was right, much to Haku's objections. Ibiki had joined them, though he never said why. They all knew it was to keep an eye on the former missing-nin.

Naruto started the fight, his impatience getting the better of him. He threw a barrage of punches and while Zabuza was able to block all of them, a few of them did get close, as they came from bizarre angles. Zabuza held Naruto by the wrists, who then twisted his body to come from overhead with a smashing ax kick. Zabuza absorbed the impact with chakra and took it, and pinned the foot with his head and shoulder before spinning Naruto's body, almost breaking the boy's ankle.

Naruto hissed in pain as his ankle twisted and he retreated. Haku's hand twitched towards a senbon at the sight of her crush in pain (not that she seriously gave any thought to attacking the man who had raised her since her bloodline had been discovered). Even to the trained eye, Ibiki didn't react. Only the most trained in reading people, or someone who had known him for years would have seen him tense.

The jinchuuriki moved his hands into his favorite handseal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Five Naruto's were suddenly inhabited the training ground.

The five ramen freaks dove at their opponent, forcing him to apply himself harder. Zabuza parried their strikes and hit them into each other, but during the week they had waited to assault Gato's base, Naruto had trained and taught himself how to pack chakra into his **Kage Bunshin** in a way that made it so that they could last a few extra hits. Even for a jounin, landing five solid hits on someone while being attacked from five different angles was no mean feat.

Zabuza stepped inside Naruto's timing, grabbed one, and threw it into the one charging him. Those two dispelled as Zabuza jumped back, flying through the handseals for **Mizu Bunshin**. Two condensed into view, one on either side of him, and flickered out of view. They reappeared behind the two dispelling clones on either side of Naruto, who was now surrounded.

On the sidelines, Ibiki leaned over to Haku. "Why doesn't he use **Kirigakure no Jutsu**? He's hailed as a master of that technique."

Haku shook her head dismissively. "He is, but Zabuza-san is also smarter than to rely on one tactic. **Kirigakure no Jutsu** works on most people, but Naruto-kun is an exception. With his heightened senses, Naruto-kun is nearly as good as Zabuza-san at tracking enemies through it. It is only because of his vast experience with it that Zabuza-san is able to beat him with that technique. Fortunately, Zabuza-san has many other ways of humbling Naruto-kun."

"So you'd rather Naruto lose this match?" Ibiki questioned.

Haku was silent for a minute, deciding on how to answer. "Yes, I would. I greatly admire Naruto-kun, but I would prefer to see him lose a practice match than a fight for his life. As good as he may be, Naruto-kun still has much to learn."

The Zabuza clone on the right rushed in on Naruto, striking him in the back of the head with the butt of his sword, only to have the hanyou puff into smoke. The trio of swordsmen looked around, and a hail of kunai descended upon them, only two of them getting away. The other one splashed back into water as the kunai pierced its body.

The two's fight continued for a while longer, with Naruto pulling off some amazing escapes thanks to his clones, but never truly gaining the upper hand over the more experienced nin. Though Zabuza was covered in small scratches and bruises, with one particularly angry gash on his shoulder from where he dropped his guard for a second too long, Naruto was looking much worse. He had a nasty looking black eye, split lip, three broken fingers, and a variety of other wounds that weren't worth mentioning but added up to a lot. The fight eventually ended with Zabuza forcing Naruto onto a nearby stream, trapping him in a **Suirou no Jutsu**, and holding him there until Naruto admitted defeat. Not that that didn't take a while.

As Zabuza slumped against a tree and Naruto lay on the ground, Haku stepped forward and pulled out a small bag full of various herbs and creams. She knelt by Naruto first. "Smear this cream on your wounds, Naruto-kun. I know the Kyuubi will heal you before long, but the cream will dull the pain in the meantime, and hasten the healing." Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but quickly closed it again when he saw the look on Haku's face. The only thing worse than an angry Haku was a disappointed Haku. Naruto just mumbled out his assent.

Haku moved over to Zabuza next. "Rub this in once I'm done healing your shoulder. And don't let me catch you doing this again any time soon," Haku order with a stern look gracing her gentle features. Zabuza just grunted an acknowledgement. He knew better than to argue with Haku on matters of healing and recovery. Haku moved her hands in a few quick seals and whispered, "**Shosen no Jutsu**!" before her hands glowed a faint green and she placed them on Zabuza's bleeding shoulder.

As she ran her hands over her sensei's wound, she felt a presence behind her and a hand land on her shoulder. Haku whipped around with her hand still glowing, mentally changing the effect of the healing chakra to its more deadly cutting nature.

Her hand was caught before it got anywhere near its target.

"Who are you?" the greatest med-nin alive asked.

Haku's eyes were wide upon realizing whom she just attacked, and immediately began trying to figure out a way to apologize enough to not get killed because of it.

"That's Haku-chan, Tsunade-baa-chan, so leave her alone before I have to punch you in the face," Naruto grunted as he pushed himself up from where he was laying.

Haku gasped as she heard what Naruto just said. Before she could blink, Tsunade had finger-flicked Naruto into a tree and was berating him. "What have I told you about calling me that, brat? Huh? And I was asking because she just did something that had me interested."

"H-how did you get so close to me without me noticing?" Not what Haku meant to say, but something she wanted to know all the same. Haku prided herself on her skills, and to have someone get right behind her without her noticing was unforgivable.

"I'm not considered one of the Sannin for nothing, kid," Tsunade replied with a smirk. "Now, what were you doing with your buddy over there?"

Haku looked very confused for a moment before answering. "**Shosen no Jutsu**, I was healing his shoulder."

"I don't think so. I know that technique, and what you were using looked a lot like it, but it wasn't. Do it again," Tsunade ordered.

Haku formed the seals and her hands started glowing once again. Off to the side, Shizune gasped, noticing what Tsunade did the first time.

"Whoever taught you that technique was wrong. You have the second and last seals switched. Reverse them and you'll have it right, but what you were using was a really incredibly bastardized version of **Shosen**."

Behind Haku, Zabuza winced as he realized what he had done. "Ah, sorry about that Haku. I thought I had the handseals right, but it had been a while since I had seen it when you asked me. I never was any good at that medical stuff anyway."

At Tsunade's questioning look, Haku elaborated. "I asked Zabuza-san if he knew any medical jutsu, and he believed he remembered the handseals for **Shosen no Jutsu**. I trained with them until I could produce medical chakra with it."

Tsunade regarded Haku with a critical eye as she heard Shizune muttering faintly in the background, probably thinking along the same lines as her. Medical jutsu took incredible control to use and maintain, that much was well known. What wasn't quite as well known was that medical jutsu was almost as exacting as fuuinjutsu, often employing the finicky art as a way to further control the more demanding healing practices. For someone to figure out even the most basic medical jutsu on her own, without even a scroll as guidance was amazing. To force chakra to be molded correctly despite incorrect handseals was astonishing, and denoted chakra control and medical genius at the highest level. Tsunade made a quick decision.

"That's pretty good, kid. Now I'm going to make sure you know how to do the** Shosen no Jutsu** correctly, because I'm not going to have any self-respecting med-nin messing up if I can help it, and if you do a good enough job, I'll think about teaching you some more." Tsunade realized that there was no way Haku wasn't going to impress her, and she had in effect just taken on another apprentice. But there was no reason to come out and tell her that right away. She had a reputation to keep up.

Haku was positively giddy at the possibility of learning from the woman hailed as the greatest kunoichi alive, and she didn't even think before agreeing.

Zabuza shook his head at his apprentice's actions. He had long known that Haku didn't want to become someone like him, someone who could take another life and not think twice about it. Haku wanted to be someone who could heal people, but the fact of the matter was, Zabuza didn't know that much about that. He did his best, and personally thought Haku was an excellent medic for having no real training, but he knew he was biased after not having being treated by anyone else for the past few years. Besides, he really didn't have anything left to teach Haku unless she suddenly decided to get a giant sword and kill her conscience completely.

He decided to let her know she had his blessing to do whatever she wanted later on, alone. It wouldn't do to be seen showing softer emotions in public. Not unless he was about to go on a suicidal charge anyway.

Like that would ever happen.

"Meet me at the hospital tomorrow at nine a.m. We'll see how good you really are, and I'll decide if you're really worth my time."

--

Naruto took a deep breath before knocking on the door to the Yamanaka apartment. Ino's mother had let him in and told him to go on upstairs, that Ino was waiting for him. The door opened and Inoichi was there waiting for him. "Ino will be ready in a few minutes," he said gruffly. He liked Naruto, and was over him holding the Kyuubi, but if the boy expected to date his daughter, there would be no kindness.

"I thought your wife said she was waiting for me? Doesn't that mean she's ready?"

Inoichi shook his head. "A little word of advice. If you're going to go pick up a girl, they will never be ready when you get there. Ever."

"I HEARD THAT!" came the harsh call from both mother and daughter. Inoichi vaguely wondered how they heard him, but pushed past it. At least he wasn't whipped like Shikaku.

He knew he wasn't. He was able to persuade his daughter not to go after the Uchiha anymore.

Then again, he wasn't able to put up much of a defense when she came home with this idea, and stopped arguing completely when his wife said something to him.

No, he decided, he wasn't whipped like his friend, and if he was, he was perfectly happy not knowing he was.

Naruto and Inoichi sat in a fairly uncomfortable silence for the next few minutes, waiting for Ino to finish getting ready. Inoichi had a lot of fun playing the menacing father, which he was pretty good at, especially since he had been a jounin for almost two decades, and a shinobi for more than two-thirds of his life.

Ino came into the living room and immediately noticed the oppressive atmosphere. She sent a look at her father than had him cringing. He knew he would have an upset daughter to deal with (and most likely his wife as well, once Ino told her what he had been doing) once she got back.

Ino was done glowering at her father, and turned to Naruto, who hadn't said anything. She figured he would be complimenting her loudly by this point, not that she wanted that, but only that it was something he would do. Instead, he was staring at her dumbly, mouth half open, and eyes slightly glazed. If he decided to start giggling, she would punch his lights out, but his whisper stopped her.

"Beautiful…"

Ino blushed at the compliment. It probably had more effect on her than if he had been yelled. She was wearing a lavender dress that stopped mid-thigh and showed off her exceptional legs. She had paid special attention to her hair, and it could be seen with an extra shine to it. Naruto, on the other hand, sported his trench coat as always. However, it did seem to be cleaner than usual, as no spots of dirt could be found on it despite the rough sparing match it went through yesterday. He also had traded out his orange for deep blue variants that worked well with his eyes. Naruto hadn't particularly wanted to trade out his orange, but after multiple objections from Shizune, Anko, and Haku (who didn't really want the day to go well because it might hurt her chances, but wasn't nasty enough to actively sabotage his date, and didn't want to give the impression that it would be okay to dress like a fool when he took her out), Naruto relented. It looked good on him, but the jinchuuriki had already decided to go back to orange as soon as he could.

"You're looking pretty good yourself, Naruto-kun," Ino said in her attempts to conceal her blush. "What are we going to do today?"

Naruto seemed to snap out of it at Ino's words. He held up a basket she had overlooked until now. "Oh, well I made us some lunch and I figured we could go somewhere to eat it."

Ino refrained from rolling her eyes. Only Naruto would say something like that. "So you didn't want to take me out to eat?" she asked innocently. Her father seemed to back away at those words, though Naruto didn't catch it.

Naruto blushed. "I didn't think you'd want to go to Ichiraku's, and anywhere else I can go and not get kicked out didn't feel right," he mumbled, feeling slightly ashamed.

Ino flushed with anger at the villagers who would keep her crush from being treated like a normal human being. "That's okay, Naruto-kun," she said gently. "Food you made yourself is more romantic anyway." Naruto beamed at the simple praise and Ino caught his infectious smile. She grabbed his hand and led him off and away.

Inoichi watched them go off with a fond smile. He knew Naruto would make his daughter happy. Suddenly, he cursed. "Shit! I had the oppressive atmosphere, but I forgot to threaten his life if anything happens to her. Dammit!"

--

Naruto had stopped being led by Ino halfway to their destination and became the leader, though he didn't drop her hand. Ino wasn't sure if this was conscious or not, but she liked to think it was. "Just a little farther," he declared as they pushed through the woods.

Ino knew Naruto had a strange sense of what would make a good date. Knowing this, she thought she had prepared herself for this. However, being dragged through woods at a high rate of speed was not what she had expected. Another thirty feet and the duo burst through a wall of foliage that gave way to a clearing that made Ino gasp.

The majority of the clearing was dominated by a pond, fed by a beautiful waterfall with a small stream running off it before disappearing among the trees. One side of the pond was covered in a soft field of flowers, elegant ones that had Ino's eyes bugging. Naruto immediately knew he had made the right choice. "You know, the old man said that the Nidaime used to practice his water techniques here. I think he just liked the view."

Ino nodded absently. She was still too wrapped up in appreciating the beauty of the clearing.

Naruto walked over to the clear spot of grass right by the water. He sat down close enough to the water to dip their feet in and patted the grass next to him. Ino shook off her shock and joined him. Naruto emptied the basket, setting up sandwiches, a thermos of ramen, various snacks, and two rather delicious looking slices of cake.

Ino caught herself as her mouth started watering, it really looked good. "Come on, Ino-chan, eat up!"

"I'm on a diet, Naruto-kun…" she protested weakly.

"So what? I think you look great, and you should eat more anyway. It's not healthy to go without eating. Besides, if you train enough, you can get stronger, not have to worry about what you're eating, and not be hungry all at the same time. So eat!"

Ino's body betrayed her. Her hand shot out and grabbed one of the sandwiches, and started chowing down. Her stomach was grateful, and one look at Naruto destroyed all of her protests. He looked happy she was eating, so there was no way she was stopping now, not if she didn't have to.

They sat with their feet brushing the water's edge, and Naruto told Ino about the mission to Wave Country. She was suitably angry at Gato's actions, and hid her jealousy successfully when she heard about how many times Haku and Tenten walked in on him accidentally. Naruto couldn't explain it. He didn't understand how two experienced kunoichi like them couldn't tell when he was in the middle of changing and how they always seemed to walk in on him at that exact moment. He told her about all the bandits he had to take down, something that was easier for him to talk about than he thought it would be. Ino still held him as he went through that part of the story. Of course, she nearly killed him when he mentioned going off to fight the bear demon, but it had been a great date up until then.

After Naruto bandaged his bruises, and they spent a little while longer talking, before Naruto decided to take Ino to his favorite place in Konoha. Ino immediately knew he was talking about the top of the Yondaime's head on the Hokage Monument, but as they were walking over there, fate decided they would never get there.

"Konohamaru, rocks aren't square!"

Boom!

"Udon, you shouldn't have added so much gunpowder!"

"Sorry Moegi-chan."

"Hey Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi. What do you need?"

The trio shot up to attention. "We want you to play ninja with us boss! You haven't played with us in soooo long."

"I played with you guys last week. Are you telling me you've mastered what I've taught you already since then?"

The three ninja-in-training blushed and kicked the dirt at their feet. "Well, um, not totally…"

Naruto had met Konohamaru shortly after becoming a Genin. The boy had been running from his teacher, Ebisu, and Naruto helped hide him. They evaded detection for a while, but Ebisu wasn't a Special Jounin for nothing, and when Konohamaru started arguing with Naruto, their position was compromised quickly. Naruto ended up defeating Ebisu through a combination of **Kage Bunshin** and **Henge**, getting a surrounding group of women to attack the man for being a pervert.

After that, Konohamaru pleaded with Naruto to teach him a technique that would be able to beat Ebisu like that. Naruto eventually gave up his **Oiroke no Jutsu**, and Konohamaru took to it well, learning it quickly for his age. Ebisu caught up with them once again (looking rather worse for wear), and Naruto knocked him out after Konohamaru failed to. The Sarutobi heir looked up to him ever since.

The Konohamaru corps interrupted Team Seven as they were coming back from a mission, and Sakura asked Naruto what kind of ninja plays ninja. In truth, Naruto wasn't playing ninja at all. He made it seem like a game (remembering his own lack of attention at that age) as he taught them basic shinobi skills, ranging from detection and stealth to the most basic of jutsu, **Henge**. They were more than happy with what they were learning, and they were getting a better grounding earlier they would get at the academy. That's not to say the academy was bad, it was just that they weren't able to deal with all the different styles the shinobi hopefuls were suited for.

"Hey boss, who's she?" Konohamaru asked, pointing at Ino.

Naruto chuckled sheepishly for not introducing Ino until now. "This is Ino-chan, and I've known her since I was younger than you guys."

"Is she your, you know…" Konohamaru asked suggestively, holding up his pinky.

"Well, we are on a date right now," Ino said with an undertone that stated that the younger trio probably wanted to make sure they didn't disrupt her date any longer.

"I always knew boss had good taste," Konohamaru remarked, and Ino looked satisfied with that compliment.

"Alright troops," Naruto barked as his friends saluted, "I want you to make sure you have what I taught you down pat before you see me again! And believe me, I'll be checking."

"Yes sir!" The Konohamaru corps snapped a salute before running down the street. Just as Naruto and Ino were about to leap off, they were stopped by a shout. "Hey, put me down!"

Naruto immediately started back for his 'troops', giving Ino an apologetic glance. She let him go because otherwise she knew he would be worrying for the rest of the day.

Konohamaru was dangling by his scarf as a guy in a black suit with a hood reminiscent of cat ears growled at him. There was a bandage wrapped something on his back, and Naruto absently wondered what it was before snapping his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Hey, put him down!" Naruto called, and the black-clad nin flickered his eyes over to Naruto before dismissing him as unimportant.

"I hate little brats like you. I eat brats like you for breakfast. And you ran into me, so what do you think I'm going to you?"

Konohamaru paled and started struggling even harder to get out of the hold he was in, but to no avail. Udon and Moegi looked on in horror. Their friend was in serious trouble and they couldn't do anything to help him.

"Dammit Kankuro," a beautiful blonde with her hair in four pigtails and a large fan strapped to her back yelled, "put the gaki down before you do something even dumber than you already have."

"Oh, shut up Temari. The brat ran into me so he has to pay the punishment."

"I said, put the kid down, _bastard_, before I have to kick your ass," Naruto growled.

The Sand-nin gave a derisive snort. "What makes you think you could even touch me?"

BAM!!!

Naruto had replaced Konohamaru with himself, twisted out of Kankuro's startled grip and slammed his forehead into the boy's nose. Reinforced by his hitae-ite, Kankuro's nose was broken fairly easily.

"You know, that's the Sandaime's grandson you had been threatening, so I probably just did you a favor," Naruto smirked.

Kankuro reached around with a practiced motion and the package on his back began to fall. It hit the ground and leaned into his waiting hand. Naruto tensed. Whatever was in there, the guy knew how to use.

"You're not using it already, are you?" Temari questioned.

Kankuro wiped the blood from his nose. "He's got it coming."

"You were the one about to beat up a little kid!"

As Kankuro was about to retort, an incredible blast of killing intent silenced him.

"Kankuro, you're a disgrace to our village." A redhead with dark rings around his eyes said in a deadly monotone.

"B-but Gaara, th-they started it," Kankuro protested weakly.

"Shut up, or I'll kill you." Gaara turned around slowly, and with killing intent leaking, looked at Naruto. "I apologize for my brother's stupid actions."

Kyuubi's voice popped up. **"Kit, I know that smell anywhere. It's fairly muted, cause he's sealed, so I'm not surprised you missed it, but that human is the container for the Ichibi no Shukaku."**

'_Huh?'_

"**He is a jinchuuriki, and with the amount of youki leaking out, Shukaku was probably rather poorly sealed."**

'_So, what do you want me to do about it?'_

"**Personally, I'd like to seal him off even further. He's notorious for destroying his container's mind while they sleep. I can seal away his mind and leave the boy's control over the youki, if he has any. Not that I care about the human, but if I can torture the crazy tanuki, that's all good with me."**

'_What are you talking about?'_

"**That crazy son of a bitch doesn't deserve the title of Biju. I know I've told you about the time all nine of us were tasked with wiping out most of human race, right?"**

Naruto nodded mentally._'Yeah, you said it was the last time you really got to cut loose with your friends.'_

"**Right, that one. Well, Shukaku was never wrapped real tight to begin with, and during that mission, the humans launched one of their major bombs at him. Thinking himself invincible, dumbass took the hit. Didn't reform for nearly eighty years after that. Of course, being blown apart like that really screwed him up. Me and the other seven put up with his craziness for a while, but once we got fed up with it, we ganged up and kicked the shit out of him. Since then, he hasn't been real happy with us, and we fuck with him whenever we can. Ever since we got started getting sealed away it got harder, but we still get little chances like this."**

'_But…he was your fellow Biju, shouldn't you have helped him?'_

"**I don't think you understand. He knows he's crazy. He likes it. He's never made any attempt to get better. But beyond that, he's gone against several portions of the demon code."**

'_Like what?'_

"**He kills without discretion. Normally, we wouldn't care, but he takes it too far. He goes after kids, too. No self-respecting demon would go after a kid. It's despicable."**

'_I never thought I'd hear you say something like that, fuzzy.'_

"**You've never been to the demon realm. Far above any treasure, children are prized. It's because demons rarely ever have kids. That's why Greater Demons spare children, even human children, whenever they can. Some of the lower demons don't follow that creed as much, but anyone who's reached the level that we have will leave them alone."**

'_You never told me that.'_

"**Well, there's your lesson in demon etiquette for the day. Now, see if you can convince the boy to let us seal off Shukaku."**

"What's your name?" Naruto asked, the mental conversation not having taken too long and the Sand trio still there.

"Sabaku no Gaara," the redhead answered, still using his creepy monotone. "You?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"I look forward to fighting you in the exams, Uzumaki Naruto." No one was confused about that comment, as Asuma had told his team that he had nominated them the day before, and Naruto lived with two of the proctors.

"Actually, I have a proposition for you," Naruto grinned. "How would you like to be rid of that pesky little demon voice in your head?"

Gaara suddenly clutched his head as if in pain (and frankly, he probably was), and stuttered, "M-mother?" Gaara's eyes flickered and Naruto was suddenly under bear of the killing intent of a demon lord.

Temari and Kankuro were nearly paralyzed, and it was only because of muscle memory that they were inching away while trying to keep their little brother from noticing them. They knew Shukaku was close to the surface, and wouldn't acquiesce to being sealed away. Ino was trying to make herself as small as possible. Her team had come across a group of bandits while on a C-rank, but it was nothing like this. Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi were simply trying not to faint.

Naruto merely smiled. His eyes shifted minutely, veins of silver creeping in as his pupils elongated slightly, and he focused the killing intent of the most powerful demon lord in the land solely on Gaara. The sand user stumbled back three steps as the tension in the air dropped considerably. Konohamaru's trio could breath again, and Ino could move again.

Temari and Kankuro, however, were even more frightened. Even their unconscious attempts to run had stopped. While they were scared of Gaara and Shukaku, they were now utterly terrified of the blonde boy in front of them. He had just done what they thought was impossible. He had scared Shukaku and Gaara into retreating. They had originally thought that if they ever came across someone like that, they would be amazed or grateful. The only thing they were feeling now was terror.

"Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi, why don't you guys go practice what I showed you the other day? I want you to have it down pat by the next time I see you, alright?" Even though Naruto was forcing out enough killing intent to put a Biju in hysterics, his voice was light and cheerful. The diminutive trio nodded and ran off. "Now, Suna no Shukaku, you have absolutely no say in your whether or not you get sealed off, so leave your host alone before I have to kick your ass from here to Kumo and back. Alright?"

Gaara once again had his hand on his head, muttering quietly as he forced his demon back. Finally, he looked up. "We will discuss your proposition. Come, Temari, Kankuro."

Naruto shook his head. "Meet me on top of the Hokage Monument in thirty minutes." He turned Ino, his stern look immediately transforming itself to one of pleading. "I'm so sorry Ino-chan, I'm so, so, soooo sorry! Please forgive me!"

Ino definitely wasn't happy about their date being cut short, but she had been satisfied with what she had gotten already. She would be convincing Naruto to go out with her again soon, but whatever he was planning to do was obviously important, as most things concerning Naruto were. He tended to get involved in things that were supposed to be beyond him and come out for the better. No one had figured out how he pulled it off, at least so far.

"Naruto, if you duck out on our next date, I will hurt you so bad nobody will be able to put you back together, you got that?"

Naruto relaxed. "Thank you so much Ino-chan!" Naruto reached in and hugged her tightly, thanking her again for letting him pull out of their date when he knew she didn't want him to leave. Ino inhaled deeply, taking in Naruto's distinct scent, bringing a goofy grin to her face as he ran off, a grin that didn't leave her features for the rest of the day.

--

Precisely thirty minutes later, Naruto appeared on top of the monument, standing beside his adoptive grandfather. Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro were already there waiting for them.

"What do you plan on doing?" Gaara asked bluntly. "If you plan to kill me, I will destroy you."

Naruto waved his hands. "Hey, hey, calm down. I'm not going to do anything like that. If this works out, I'm going to make your life easier, okay?"

Gaara stared at Naruto for what seemed like forever, and the blonde jinchuuriki had the distinct feeling he was being judged. However, he didn't flinch. He didn't flinch when dealing with Kyuubi, and he didn't flinch when playing mind games with Ibiki. There was no way he was going to flinch now, not when his opponent was someone his own age.

He might have flinched if it was one of the girls, but no man in his right mind would blame him for that.

"What is he here for?" Gaara asked, indicating the Hokage.

"He's here to make sure the sealer doesn't go nuts and destroy Konoha. Plus he likes learning knew things, like the new seal you're going to get, if you agree."

"What is this new seal going to do?" Gaara was frighteningly blunt with his questions.

"It's supposed to seal away Shukaku from talking to you, attacking you, having any control over your actions, anything like that, but allow you to keep the same amount of youki running through your chakra coils."

"Why's that important?" Temari asked before she could stop herself.

Naruto looked at her with an understanding stare. Not many people studied the effect of prolonged exposure of youki on the human body. Most knew that if a large amount entered your chakra coils, you were probably dead, and if you weren't, you were in extreme pain until it exited your coils once again. However, jinchuuriki were different.

"Gaara's had youki being filtered into his chakra system for his entire life. If his seal's weak enough for Shukaku to pull his famous 'eat your soul while you sleep' maneuver, he's getting even more youki than a perfect seal would give him. Both seals are made for the same reason, to take youki and make it into usable chakra, it's just a perfect seal would take longer. But you see, both versions of the seal leak a small amount of youki into the jinchuuriki's body. Normally, youki in person's chakra system would mean intense pain or death. However, since a jinchuuriki has had the youki in their system since birth, it switches purposes. It's not a poison in their system anymore, but if it's suddenly removed, it ends up having the same effect. Intense pain or death. Probably both. The seal Gaara's going to receive is designed to allow him to keep the same amount of youki leaking into his coils but seal away Shukaku. Any other reinforcing seal we would use would work just as well in the long run, but would probably end up restricting some of the youki flow. It wouldn't be enough to kill him, but it would be enough to weaken him, if only temporarily. Since the chuunin exams are so close, and you guys are in it, that would be a bad idea. Understand?"

Temari nodded, and Kankuro did too, but Gaara just stared at him. He didn't give any indication of understanding, but Naruto instinctively knew that Gaara would let him know if he didn't. Probably violently.

Sarutobi was impressed with the way Naruto spelled it out for the Suna genin. Naruto was proud of himself for not screwing up, but was internally horrified by how much he sounded like Iruka-sensei in lecture mode.

"Where'd you learn all that?" Kankuro asked, genuinely curious. People usually didn't think of him as the intellectual one, or one who wanted to learn more. Temari was the one known for brains, and in strategy and tactics, she beat him every time. However, on the whole, he was smarter. And his sister knew it, too. It was partially why she beat him into the ground with her fan so often. But there was no way he could be a puppeteer and not be smart. He needed an extensive knowledge in physics, chemistry, aerodynamics, woodworking, engineering, and biology. He had also studied basic psychology in order to better create a more terrifying puppet.

Naruto looked at the face-painted genin and gave a sad smile. In truth, he had gotten most of it from various scrolls he had taken from the Kyuubi's lair he had visited just before he came back from his trip out side the village, but he wasn't about to tell them that. "Twelve years ago, Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi no Kitsune. History said he killed it, at the cost of his own life, but you probably know better than most that it's impossible to kill a Biju. The best you can do is seal it away. Guess who was used?"

Looks of understanding blossomed on Temari's and Kankuro's faces, while Gaara maintained a look of disinterested indifference. However, one thing stuck out in the mind of the sand-user.

"You were treated as a hero?"

Naruto gave a hollow laugh and Sarutobi looked pained. "However much of a hero I may have been, I was treated as the Kyuubi incarnate by almost the entire village. It was only because of a few understanding souls that I didn't go completely bat shit and release fuzzy all over their ungrateful asses."

Though it hurt the Sandaime Hokage to hear that, he knew it was true. However, it hurt Temari and Kankuro even more. The blonde in front of them didn't seem like the brightest of people; after all, he wasn't afraid of Gaara. But still, it sent waves of guilt running through them as they heard that all they had to do to make sure Gaara didn't end up as a psychopathic killer was disobey their father and try harder to get close to him when he was younger.

"Perform the seal. If it goes wrong, I will kill you."

Naruto nodded and turned to Sarutobi. "I've got him to promise not to do anything too bad, so let him have his fun. He hasn't gotten a chance to stretch his legs since before I came back to the village. He won't do anything more destructive than I've ever done. Alright?"

The Professor agreed with only the greatest reluctance. Naruto bit his thumb and ran through a set of short handseals. "**Kuchiyose: Kyuubi no Kitsune**!"

Kankuro and Temari were wide-eyed and had their hands on their weapons, while Gaara had popped the cork from his gourd at this apparent attempt to kill them. Sarutobi looked slightly distressed as well, but nowhere near as much as the Sand Siblings.

As the smoke cleared, instead of a blood red fox, there stood a man. He was dressed in formal clothes, and he looked a bit like royalty. He wore his blood red hair long, down to his waist. His face was aristocratic, but still had the look of fox mischief that Naruto wore daily. He had no tails, nor had his ears on top of his head, nor did he have claws. In fact, the only thing that might have given him away as the demon lord of the foxes was his red eyes, but they weren't even slitted. If he had black hair, he probably would have looked like Yuuhi Kurenai's brother.

"Now, show me your seal so I can fix it," he ordered Gaara. "I've only got so long outside the seal, and I want my night of debauchery to be as fulfilling as possible."

"What did you do you Naruto?" Sarutobi asked, suddenly very angry with the fox demon.

Naruto was lying on the ground, unconscious and looking very much like he was dead at first glance. His ever-present illusion was gone, showing Naruto's true form. Luckily, the Sand Siblings were too focused on the deadliest demon in the world to notice. Once Sarutobi confirmed he was alive, he relaxed only very slightly.

"What? He summoned me, and he knew the price. It's the main reason he doesn't summon me every day. By summoning me, he loses the youki supply that's being transferred into him. He's got enough still in him to last him about eighteen hours or so, but after that, I've got to go back in the seal, or we'll both die. So, let me do the seal so I can go find some fun."

Gaara reluctantly showed his seal, and Kyuubi started to paint on a complex seal overlay. Everyone was too scared to ask the demon lord where he had gotten the ink and brush, as no one had seen any signs of it before. Completely the seal, Sarutobi inspected it briefly, before finding it far outside the area of his expertise. The only other time he had felt that way when dealing with seals was the Yondaime's special kunai. Kyuubi ran through handseals faster than he could see, and forced a hand glowing with chakra over the new seal.

"Alright, that's done," Kyuubi said as Gaara finished screaming in pain. "You should be able to sleep again, as soon as you can force yourself to actually get to sleep. Going so long without it, you've probably forgotten how."

The Biju walked over to Naruto, slipping an illusion over him to hide the blonde's true form. "Take the kit back to his house. He's probably the most vulnerable person in the world right now. Don't worry, I'll be back in the seal in time, but get him in bed. He's going to wake up with the mother of all hangovers in the morning."

--

Sarutobi dealt with the Sand Siblings masterfully, getting them back to their hotel and ordering Gaara to rest, after reiterating to the boy that he wasn't a monster, using Naruto as an example. He then went back to his office and opened an extremely large bottle of sake.

It wouldn't be until a day before the exams started that Sasuke and Sakura would meet Gaara and his siblings, and even with a bit of sleep and a lack of a demon lord ordering him around, he would still scare the shit out of them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter, so Happy Holidays. It's the only present you'll get from me. Sorry I don't have more for you, but I'm poor. Any donations will be appreciated. Infinite thanks go out to my new beta Dark Machine and his quick turnaround time. He's the reason this chapters so much better than the last ones that I beta'd myself. Read and Review.**

* * *

Naruto leapt over the rooftops of Konoha, coming to rest outside the academy, he waited for his teammates. Five minutes later, Sasuke and Sakura turned up, Sasuke willfully ignoring the pink haired creature latched on his arm. 

"About time," Naruto said.

"It takes time to look this impressive so early in the morning," Sakura answered with a glare, Sasuke just grunted noncommittally.

Naruto didn't say anything further; he didn't feel like being subjected to the horrors of an angry fangirl. As they walked through the academy, they saw a crowd surrounding the door on the second floor. Naruto was about to say that they should just keep moving, when Sasuke and Sakura walked straight toward them.

Intent on grabbing his teammates before they made a scene and got them more competition, Naruto saw something that made him forget all about it. Team Gai were confronting the two guarding the door. Suddenly the guard with his head wrapped in bandages backhanded Lee to the floor.

Tenten stepped in to shield her friend, and when Naruto didn't see her moving to block the strike, he reacted. He wasn't sure why, as he recognized the tactic they were using, making people think they were weaker than they really were. But at that moment, he didn't care. They were picking on people who weren't fighting back, and that wasn't something Naruto was going to put up with.

And that was how Naruto found himself standing in between two shocked ninja. Tenten was shocked that she hadn't been hit, though she almost glomped Naruto in happiness when she saw who it was. The bandaged nin was shocked that he hadn't detected Naruto approaching, his backhand had even been caught.

"Knock it off," Naruto growled, his killing intent slowly leaking out. Sakura and Sasuke were stunned at Naruto's actions, but when later asked about it, Naruto wouldn't be able to give an answer as to why he did what he did.

The disguised chuunin (though all were oblivious to it) moved forward with a strong cross to Naruto's chin, that he just barely dodged. Naruto jumped back for better range, when Lee superimposed himself between the two fighters.

"This is not what we are here for, Naruto-san," Lee said disapprovingly.

"He's right," Sakura agreed, while disbelieving that she actually did agree with him.

"You shouldn't have even tried to fight Naruto," Sasuke smirked. "He's a lot weaker than me, and he could still kick your ass all over the place. So why don't you just leave, and undo this genjutsu field while you're at it. I'm going to the third floor."

The crisis averted, and an extra twenty contestants let into the exams, Team Seven continued trekking to the testing room.

"Sasuke-san!" Lee shouted as he stood on top of a banister, fists on his hips. "You refused to spar me in Wave Country, but now, I request once more! Fight me, here and now, as a sign of who is better, a natural born genius or a genius of hard work. Or do you refuse once again?"

Sasuke grunted. "Fine, I'll fight you, but only as a warm-up. I doubt you're even worth my time."

"You will see that a genius of hard work can be much stronger than you believe, Sasuke-san." Lee's eyes suddenly turned to hearts. "And I can prove to the beautiful Sakura-san that I deserve her love!"

As Sakura shivered in disgust, Naruto remembered the training sessions from in Wave. He was usually exhausted by that point in the day, having created and maintained hundreds of clones over the course of the day in order to practice against mass attacks, so he wasn't much of a sparring partner, but from what he remembered; Lee was one of the most devastating taijutsu users he had ever seen. Naruto smirked as he spotted Tenten hanging around the corner. Apparently, she wanted to see Sasuke get his ass handed to him as well.

Naruto snuck over to Tenten once Sakura was absorbed in the fight. "Are you here to watch teme get beat up?"

"Maybe," she grinned impishly, before turning serious. "Mainly I don't want Lee to give up too much. He shouldn't show his abilities like he does."

Naruto winced as he saw Lee get a kick inside Sasuke's guard, catching him on the chin. He may not like Sasuke, but he was still his teammate, and he didn't want him getting seriously hurt.

In the fighting arena, Sasuke smirked. "Guess I finally have someone to use this against. I activated it in Wave, but haven't found anyone worthy of it yet. You should feel lucky I'm using it against you. **Sharingan**!"

Naruto was confused. "He activated his bloodline? When? We were in Wave too, and he never said anything there."

Tenten looked at her crush, and wondered why she liked him, even when he said things like that. "Probably when he was off training with your sensei when we were all up at the bridge doing the job we were hired to do."

"Hey, it's not so bad if he wants to train to get stronger," Naruto countered, trying to defend his teammate, even if he didn't like him.

"It is if he ignores the mission," Tenten argued, a little more heatedly.

Naruto didn't have an answer for that. He wanted to justify his teammate's actions, but he couldn't. He settled for glaring at the girl he had known since childhood. One of his favorite things to do was pick on his teammate, but he didn't want someone else cutting him down with actual venom. That was his job.

Even with his **Sharingan**, Sasuke found he couldn't beat Lee. He could track the boy's movements, but he couldn't tell what kind of jutsu he was using to beat him. He couldn't even detect any genjutsu or ninjutsu he was using. Maybe his eyes weren't strong enough.

"I see you are wondering what technique I am using to beat you," Lee said as he started to unwrap his bandages. "I am using neither ninjutsu or genjutsu in my attacks. It is all taijutsu."

"The** Sharingan** can track all taijutsu," Sasuke spat, his lip slightly split.

Lee smiled in a knowing way. "I have dedicated myself to defeating natural born geniuses, especially those geniuses born into a clan with bloodlines. As such, I have learned all about all the bloodlines I could. I know all about your Uchiha bloodline, and I have figured out how to beat it!"

"And how's that?" Sasuke demanded, looking as if he believed he was entitled to the information.

"It is true that the Uchiha bloodline can copy ninjutsu and taijutsu, as well as see through genjutsu, but there is one major flaw that is not taken into consideration. And since I have trained extensively in taijutsu, I can exploit it to its full extent." Lee was getting a lot more excited now. Naruto and Tenten were both surprised he hadn't mentioned youth or something similar yet. "The **Sharingan** may be able to see my movements, but if you aren't fast enough to catch up with me, there is no way to defend against them. **Kage Buyo**!"

Lee shot across the floor faster than most could see. He kicked Sasuke in the chin, sending him straight up, soaring in the air. Lee leapt up after his opponent, in the same arc, wrapping his loosened bandages around Sasuke, binding him tightly.

Before the attack could be completed, a thrown pinwheel caught the tail of one of Lee's bandages, pinning it to the wall. A large turtle poofed into existence as both Lee and Sasuke landed roughly. Tenten grabbed Naruto's arm, pulling him away from where he could see what was going on. "That was Ninkame, Gai-sensei's personal summon, and with your luck, you'll probably get caught in the genjutsu when they hug, cause you know it's gonna happen."

Naruto pouted, a look that made Tenten want to kiss him right there, but restrained herself. He let himself be pulled down the hallway, closer to the testing room.

Unexpected by the two, Kakashi was already there, waiting for them, along with Neji. "So, you're already here," Kakashi said lazily. "I wouldn't have thought you would have gone ahead without your teammates, Naruto. But if you were following a pretty girl, I suppose I can understand why," he added with a perverted giggle.

WHAM!

Tenten brushed her knuckles off, having just punched Kakashi into the ground. He recovered fairly quickly though.

"What are you still doing out here Neji?" Tenten asked. "You didn't have to wait out here like this."

"Actually, he did," Kakashi corrected. "The Chuunin Exams can only be taken in teams of three, and since you and your other teammate weren't here yet, he had to wait outside."

"Ah, my rival," Gai proclaimed from behind the genin, shocking them all. "It is good to see you advising my team on the procedures of the exam in my absence. So very youthful of you!"

"Hmm, you say something Gai?" Kakashi asked without even looking up from his book.

"Ooooh, my rival's attitude is so hip! I must train harder to attain his level of hipness!" Gai started ranting about exactly what training he would do in order to accomplish his goal, but everyone roundly ignored him until Lee ran up. Luckily for everyone there, Tenten and Neji dragged him inside before anything could come of it. Minutes later, after Sasuke and Sakura walked up, and after Kakashi explained the 'teams of three only' rule, Team Seven joined them.

"Naruto-kun!" A blonde blur slammed into Naruto's chest, squeezing him tightly.

Naruto pried Ino off him, not that he didn't like the feeling he was getting when she was nuzzling his chest, but he didn't want to attract any undo attention to her. He didn't care much about himself, but didn't want anyone getting the idea she would be an easy target.

"Jeez Ino-pig, I always knew you would one day realize Sasuke is out of your reach," Sakura jeered, "but I never thought you would go after a baka like Naruto. I thought you had better taste than that."

"Shut up forehead-girl, you don't know anything," Ino hissed. "Naruto's always been there for me, unlike Sasuke. Even when I was being annoying about Sasuke all the time, and if you've been on his team and still don't see his good points, you never will," she finished seriously.

Sakura stood stunned for a moment, unsure of how to respond the blunt announcement rather than the usual screams and insults. "W-well, fine."

During the exchange, Naruto maneuvered himself over away from the arguing kunoichi and over towards Team Eight, or as he preferred to call them sometimes, Team Jacket. "Hey guys," he greeted.

Shino nodded in response, while Hinata blushed and stuttered. Kiba merely snorted and turned around to keep talking to Shikamaru and Chouji. "H-hello, N-naruto-kun."

"How do you guys think you're going to do?"

"Our team has gotten much stronger since the academy, considering the amount of time we've had to train," Shino said dryly. "However, we are rookies, and it would not do to get our hopes up merely because we are stronger than we were in the academy."

"Oh come one Shino," Kiba objected, having been listening to the short conversation out of the corner of his ear. "I bet I could beat most everybody in here. There's no doubt I'm going to be a chuunin, even if I am a rookie."

Shino let out a small, barely audible sigh and adjusted his glasses, a sign Naruto recognized that meant Shino was irritated, most likely with Kiba. "Kiba, I will respect the fact that you have grown a great deal stronger than you were in the academy, but that does not make you the strongest person here, nor does it mean that you will automatically make chuunin. While I would like to believe that we will all advance, however, logic states that as we are all rookies, we will likely all fail before getting too far into the exams. Furthermore, the likelihood that any of us will be promoted is slim, to say the least."

"What?" Kiba was confused. Despite being on the same team with him, Kiba hadn't made much headway in deciphering Shino's words.

"Do you really think we will f-fail, Shino-kun?" Hinata asked, suddenly even more nervous than before.

"As rookies, it is highly likely we will not pass the exam. However, we have grown strong enough to put forth a good showing, which is the most anyone could reasonably ask for." Shino looked at Hinata seriously behind his dark glasses, though Naruto could tell he wasn't angry. Naruto didn't know exactly what Shino was talking about, but figured he was trying to boost Hinata's confidence. Which was something Naruto had no problem helping with.

"Don't worry Hinata, you're plenty strong to take out anyone you come up against," Naruto laughed. "I doubt you'll even need to fight most of them. They'll probably get knocked out fast, before the fighting even starts."

A silver haired genin walked over. "You know, you guys should probably be quieter. There're a lot of people here who would kill you for saying something like that. Those rain-nin over there, they're known for their short tempers." As the Rookie Nine turned to look at them, the rain-nin's killer intent was brought to bear upon them. Most shook it off, while the braver among them sent back their own.

"Being that this isn't my first time taking the exam, you probably ought to listen to my advice," the silver haired genin said. "I'm Yakushi Kabuto, by the way."

"Uh, Kabuto-san, is this your second time taking the exams?" Sakura asked. "You said this wasn't your first time."

Kabuto laughed lightly. "Oh no. This is my seventh time taking the chuunin exams."

Everyone's mouth dropped at that, though Naruto and Shino stored it in the back of their minds. Taking the chuunin exam seven times and not getting through was suspicious, no matter who or how bad a ninja you were. Most likely, if you hadn't passed after that many times, you would either give up ninja life altogether, or your sensei would stop allowing you to take it.

"Wow, so you must have a lot of information on the exam," Sakura commented.

"More like he knows how to lose," Shikamaru muttered.

"Yeah, I've learned quite a bit." Kabuto held up a stack of cards. "I've even made these special info cards that react only to my chakra. I have information on every genin in the exam. Since you're rookies, I could give you a hand. Do you have anyone you want information on?"

Sasuke immediately spoke up. "Rock Lee and Sabaku no Gaara."

"Oh, so you know their names. That'll make it too easy." Kabuto set the cards on the floor, and his hands blurred as he plucked two out. A quick infusion of chakra later, and they showed the information on Lee and Gaara.

"Rock Lee of Konoha. Sensei, Maito Gai. Teammates, Higurashi Tenten and Hyuuga Neji. He graduated dead last in his academy class, but his taijutsu abilities have grown immensely since he became a genin. He's completed twenty-two D-rank missions, twelve C-rank missions, was apparently called in as reinforcements on a mission with bad intelligence. I don't have the rank.

"Sabaku no Gaara. Sensei, Baki of the Sand. Teammates, Sabaku no Temari and Sabaku no Kankuro, his brother and sister. He's the son of the current Kazekage. I don't have much information on him since he's a new genin and this is his first time taking the exams, but I do have his mission history. Eight C-rank missions and a B-rank – wow, a B-rank at his age, that's impressive. Oh, and there's one more note here. It says he's completed all his missions without even a scratch on him. I think I'd steer clear of him if he's as good as all that."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Everyone looked at the blonde curiously, but Kabuto pulled the card anyway. "Any particular reason you wanted to see your own card?"

Naruto snatched it from the silver-haired genin and looked it over. It had all his standard information, his sensei, teammates, mission history. However, it also mentioned he had been raised by Ibiki and Anko, and was responsible for bringing Zabuza and Haku to Konoha. It didn't mention his status as a jinchuuriki, or the fact that he had merged with Kyuubi (of course, no one should have that information unless he personally gave it to them). It also had nothing on his ties to Tsunade or the fact that he was responsible for her return. Overall, not as much information as there could be, but…

Naruto ripped the card to shreds. "Not totally complete, but information can get people killed. I'm not going to let anyone else have information on me if I can keep it from getting out."

A dark look passed over Kabuto's face as Naruto destroyed his card, but it was gone just as quickly. He shrugged and smiled politely. "I wish you wouldn't have destroyed my card, but guess I can understand where you're coming from. I suppose I would want to remain as unknown as possible too. Not like those Oto ninja who came here for the exam. They're a small village, but their ninja have been making a lot of noise about how they're all going to be the strongest and all the Oto ninja are going to pass. Personally, I think they're all just trying to intimidate the other teams. I've seen their mission record, and it's not that impressive."

Naruto caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, but it was quick and with so many other people in the room, hard to detect. As such, he was only able to get himself out of the way of the Sound ninja's attack. Kabuto didn't fair so well. He dodged the kunai that flew towards his head, but it put him directly in line with the attack from the bandage-wrapped ninja. It looked like Kabuto had gotten out of the way of that one as well, but as soon as everyone relaxed, Kabuto collapsed to the floor, vomiting.

"Quiet down you worthless bastards!" an angry voice commanded from the front of the room. Ibiki and a group of chuunin poofed in, all with either scowls or smirks on their faces. The chuunin started to move to the edges of the room, taking up places in chairs around the perimeter of the room. Only two chuunin remained at the front with Ibiki, but the most interesting thing was when mirrors of ice started forming in between the chuunin's chairs, and a person appeared in each one. A person in a greenish battle kimono and hunter nin mask. Naruto noticed that instead of the Kiri symbol, Haku had buffed the mask smooth and left it that way, not putting the Konoha leaf there. Which made sense, considering Haku wasn't actually a hunter nin.

"Thanks for waiting…" Ibiki said with a sadistic smirk. "I am Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the chuunin selection exam's first test." He pointed to the back of the room where the Rookie Nine and the Oto team were standing. "Team Oto, stop doing as you please before the exam. You're guests of Konoha…unless you want to fail already?"

The one who seemed to be the leader, the one with the bandages, spoke for his team. "I apologize…this _is_ our first time…I admit we got a bit carried away. But no one could expect us to stand by as a weakling badmouthed our village."

"Bah…deal with it. There will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner, me. And even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated. Any pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately and sent back to their villages. Do I make myself clear?" Near everyone gulped. Being sent home early was a disgrace.

Ibiki went on to rearrange the seating so no team members were in close proximity to each other, as the two chuunin who had remained at the front passed out the tests.

"Do not turn your tests over. Listen closely instead. I know that might be hard for some of you, but there are many important rules to this first test. The rules will be written on the board, but questions will not be allowed.

"Rule one: Everyone starts with ten points. The test has ten questions and each one is worth one point, but this test uses a subtraction system. If you answer all the questions correctly, you'll keep all your points. But if you miss three, you'll end up with seven.

"Rule two: This is a team test. Your combined score is what determines if you pass or fail. So, each team will compete to see how many points they can hold on to from the initial team total of thirty."

"Wait a second! I don't understand this initial points system either, but why is this a team test?" Sakura yelled out.

"Shut up. You have no right to question me. There is a reason, so listen. And now for the most important rule of all.

"Rule three: Anyone caught cheating by any of the testing officers…will have two points subtracted for every offense." Sakura deflated hearing that. _'So there's other ways to lose points.'_

"And the final rule: Any that lose all their initial points during the test and those that don't answer any questions correctly…will be failed along with their two teammates."

--

Ibiki smirked mentally as he stood at the head of the testing room. He had been doing this for a long time, and only the strongest would get through, he would make sure of that. He had long developed the technique he was using now, one he used often. It didn't have a name, mainly because most never take the time to figure out how to do it, and he didn't care what it was called. By the time a shinobi reached chuunin, they had learned how to produce killing intent; at least they were supposed to. However, most could only do it in an on/off method to start with, or could only use it when feeling a negative emotion, and when done that way, the amount of killing intent depended on what the emotion was. Only experienced nin could use it effectively enough to summon it up at will, and control how much they used. However, those that could produce a large amount usually only did that. They just let loose their killing intent in one burst.

However, Ibiki's technique wasn't like that. He used in when starting an interrogation, most of the time. It started out by releasing a small, unnoticeable amount of killing intent, and gradually increasing the amount. The usual effect, provided you could keep the victim occupied on something else, would be that they wouldn't notice the rising intent, and would become increasingly nervous and paranoid, making mistakes and tripping themselves up. Its effects were subtle, but frighteningly effective when used correctly. Sadly, not many bothered to learn how to do it. Surprisingly, Naruto could, even if he didn't use it all that often. Actually, it wasn't that surprising. Naruto sucked up pretty much any technique you put in front of him, and wouldn't stop until he figured it out. Most other shinobi however, preferred learning physical interrogation if they were going to learn it at all. Ibiki knew that was limiting them, but to each his own. The technique also didn't work as well on a group as it did on an individual, but it was more than enough for a genin who wasn't ready to advance. Only those who had a chance of becoming chuunin would make it past his test.

However, as Ibiki looked out over the group, he noticed that there were a lot who _could_ potentially make it past his test. Naruto had told him about the team from Suna and their confrontation a week ago. As long as they didn't get caught cheating, they were more than capable of passing. Beyond his test, he wasn't sure, but he knew his ability to produce killing intent wasn't as good as a demon lord's. And if they spent any time around a jinchuuriki whose demon was constantly close to the surface, they had nothing to worry about. At least from him anyway.

Ibiki knew Naruto's team would pass. He had taught Naruto how to break someone mentally (even if he hadn't been in a situation to actually do so yet), and knew his little brother knew enough about the exercise to recognize it and pass. The Uchiha was smart enough to figure out some way to cheat. It would be easy if he had activated his bloodline. And Haruno was simply smart enough to pass, period.

Shino's team would pass. If the recon and information gathering team couldn't pass, no one would. But he had a feeling they would be fine, as long as they weren't too intimidated by the last question.

Ibiki knew Team Ten well enough that he already knew how they would cheat. Ino would use **Shintenshin no Jutsu**, probably on Haruno based on where the two were sitting. Shikamaru was more than smart enough to get past the questions, and he would use **Kage Mane no Jutsu** to make sure Chouji had the right answers.

Gai's team was ready too. Neji was using his Byakugan, and Tenten had a fairly good set up going with Lee. She was using near invisible wire to manipulate a mirror on the ceiling. It wasn't too obvious, and his team had set up the mirror before the genin started coming in. He had expected someone to use the mirror, but only someone who was prepared and could be subtle enough to not get caught. Tenten was doing well.

SHPTT!

Haku had just thrown a senbon from one of her mirrors and pierced one person's test. Kotetsu shouted out that he and his team were disqualified for failing.

SHPTT! SHPTT!

Two more teams gone.

--

Naruto knew what was going on with the test. Ibiki had taught him psychological games, and he knew this one. Only the truly smart people would be able to answer the questions, and Naruto knew that way was out. But he also knew how this test was going to end. Everyone would be forced to make a decision on whether or not to continue. He didn't know what his adopted brother was going to use as a motivator, but Naruto did know it would be good. He also knew that Sakura could see him from where she was, and if she thought he was going to fail the team, she might quit instead. The only way Naruto saw for this not to happen was for her to see him writing down answers. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't have a particularly sneaky way of getting answers at the moment.

**Kage Bunshin** was his primary intelligence gathering technique, because of its ability to send everything it learned back to him once a clone dispersed. However, there was no good way to use it here. He had no way to hide them as they poofed into existence, and even if he did, there was no hiding the clones once they were there. Naruto sighed as he turned to his next best option.

'_Fuzzy, can you lend a hand?'_

Kyuubi groaned as if just waking up. **"Bah, what do you want? I'm still sleeping off my hangover from last week."**

'_I thought your healing ability would fix that, shouldn't it?'_

"**Hangovers are about the only thing it doesn't heal,"** the fox demon moaned. **"I think it's Kami's way of saying he hates me. So leave me ALONE!"**

'_I can't do that.'_

"**Why the fuck not?"**

'_Because if you don't help me, there's a good chance I'll fail the exam, and then how will you live down the shame of having your vessel seen as an idiot?'_

"**Hell, I've been trying to figure that out for the past twelve years."**

'_Come on, give me a hand. Or are you afraid you won't know the answer to a few questions a human came up with?'_ Naruto taunted.

"**Worthless brat. No pitiful ape-rat could come up with a question that can stump me. And for this, you have to give me another day on the outside soon. I don't care if you just let me out, I'm doing you a favor."**

'_Yeah, yeah, yeah, what's the first answer?'_

--

Haku stood in her mirrors and watched the testers. She had been briefed on what would be considered _'cheating'_, but she had her own ideas on that. Most of these people would never be able to fool an experienced nin with the methods they were using. However, she was told what was good enough, and she would have to abide by that.

Haku hadn't really wanted to do this, but after Naruto had made some choice comments to Ibiki, the scarred man had offered her the equivalent of a C-class mission to come in and help pick out cheaters for the test. The use of her bloodline mirrors, as well as her hunter uniform, was mostly for intimidation. It wasn't particularly nice, but the sight of her hunter outfit was probably the deciding factor on several teams. Hunters were known as the most deadly nin, simply because all they did was take out the most dangerous criminal nin for their entire careers. Once they saw her, their fate was decided. They got scared, and got sloppy. By the same token, other teams were heartened by the fact that a hunter nin was in there, proof that they were being taken seriously, and their movements tightened up and allowed them a pass through where before they were probably going to fail.

She sent a fond smile over to Naruto, not that anyone could see it for the mask. Nothing against him, but he wasn't smart enough to answer the questions. They were supposed to be out of the range of a genin. It looked like he had found a way to get the answers, but even more impressive was that she couldn't see how he was getting them.

Leave it to Naruto to find the most original way of getting information she had ever seen. Of course, no one else had befriended a demon lord either.

--

Once forty-five minutes were up, Ibiki started speaking again. "Now for the tenth question. I'm sure you've noticed that we've hidden it from you. Before we reveal it, I need to go over the additional rules for this _particular_ question."

'_More rules…'_ thought Sakura despondently.

"These are the rules of desperation. First, you must choose if you will even take it."

"Choose? What the hell do you mean by that?" the blond sand-nin, Temari, Naruto said her name was.

"If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to zero and your entire team will fail, due to your indecisiveness."

"Of course we'll take it then! What kind of choice it that?" Kiba shouted.

"And now the other rule…" Ibiki smirked sadistically. "If you choose to take it, and answer incorrectly…you will lose the right to ever take the chuunin exam ever again. You'll be stuck as genin forever."

Muttering broke out all over the room. "I know what some of you are thinking. There're people here who have taken the exam before. But they were lucky. They didn't have me as a proctor. This year I'm running things. Just be glad I'm giving you a way out. If you don't think you can make it, you can quit and try again next year."

Indecision filled the room as Ibiki upped the killing intent once more. Teams started dropping like flies. More than a dozen had dropped before Naruto looked back at his teammates. Seeing Sakura starting to raise her hand, Naruto didn't even think. He slammed his hand into the desk and shouted. "Don't underestimate me and my team! I will never run!"

Everyone gawked at Naruto's actions. "I'm going to take it! I don't care if I can never take the exams again, because I'm going to be Hokage no matter what!"

Even more shocking than Naruto's proclamation, Shino stood up. "Additionally, you have no right to forbid us from taking the exams again. You may have rights to fail us now, but the only person who can forbid us from taking it again is the Hokage. And that only applies for the Konoha genin. Not to mention none of the other villages would uphold such a rule. They would not forbid their genin from advancing just because of your rule."

Shino adjusted his glasses. "However, even if they did, there are many methods for advancing through the ranks other than this exam. If there weren't, there wouldn't be nearly as many chuunin as there are."

Any nervousness that had filled the room had left now. Naruto's words had filled the other testers with confidence, and Shino had pointed out the flaws in the rules that were almost always overlooked. There was no point in dragging it out any longer.

"Is that your final decision? This is your life on the line after all. If you're wrong, you have just thrown away everything you've worked toward."

"I will follow my unbending words," Naruto growled harshly. "That's my nindo!"

Ibiki smirked. He would have to put Naruto through his paces for this later on. "Alright then. Everyone left…passes!"

At the shocked looks on everyone's faces, excluding Naruto, the scarred jounin explained the true purpose of the test. They were testing information gathering prowess with the first nine questions, and if they had the heart to go through with a mission with the last question. Some were suitably upset, but before they could truly react, Ibiki noticed the next proctor barrelling towards him. He took a step back.

The window shattered as a large ball shot through it. It exploded outward at the head of the room, kunai pining the corners of the large sheet up. On it, the words read, "The proctor of the second exam, the sexy Mitarashi Anko!" In a side note at the bottom, "Ibiki, remind me that we need milk."

"I'm your next proctor, and for that reason, you shouldn't be celebrating right now." Anko paused and looked out over the remaining teams. "Seventy-eight? What the hell? You losing your touch, scar-head?"

"There's just a lot of outstanding teams this year," he reasoned with a shrug.

Anko waved it off. "Bah, I'll cut this number in half, at least, by the time the second exam is over. Now, since I'm getting kind of excited, follow me."

After the teams were gone, Ibiki collected the papers alone. Once he got to Naruto's, he paused. All the answers were correct, extensively so, but there was an extra answer, in the space for the tenth question.

_Aniki—_

_You should pay attention to that Kabuto guy. I don't know what's up with him, but he knows way too much to be a genin, and he smells like snakes, like nee-chan. I know Anko hasn't been teaching him, so I can't think of any reason why he would except for some reasons I don't want to say if I'm wrong. But I think he's really suspicious. He apparently had the stats on everyone in the exams, detailed information, including mission logs. I know a genin shouldn't be able to get their hands on another village's mission books. And he was spreading it around. If he really is good enough to get that information, he more than knows to keep it to himself. What do you think?_

_Naruto, future Hokage_

Ibiki read it over twice before destroying the paper. He didn't need any spies finding out that they were onto Kabuto. "Kotetsu," he spoke into the air. Not a second later, the elite chuunin appeared in front of him. "Find out everything you can about Yakushi Kabuto. He might be a traitor for Orochimaru."

"Hai, Ibiki-san."

--

Anko stood in front of the fence of her favorite training ground. 'The Forest of Death', the deadliest training ground Konoha had, surpassing even 'The Tower of Pain', or 'The Dungeon of Many Sharp Pointy Things That Stab and Pierce as They Cut You into a Really Stupid Amount of Very Small Pieces'.

The naming committee probably never should have gotten drunk before deciding on that name, but most of the more eccentric jounin seemed to like it.

"Alright maggots, this is the site for the second exam. Some of you should probably back out now, because once inside, you'll find out exactly why we call it 'The Forest of Death'."

Naruto didn't scoff at this statement. He had the first time he heard about it, and Anko had thrown him in there for three days before showing him the way out. He hadn't made fun of it since.

Sasuke, however, had no such experience. "Pft, I doubt it's really all that bad. If you go in there, how bad could it be?"

Naruto had started backing away from Sasuke the moment he started talking, and he was now directly in front of a black haired grass nin, who was watching the proctor with malicious delight, not that anyone noticed.

"You've got some attitude there," Anko said as she appeared behind Sasuke after cutting his cheek with a kunai. "Mmm, Uchiha blood, tasty, but so hard to get a hold of nowadays."

Sasuke bristled at the comment, but didn't retaliate because he knew he was outclassed. He hadn't even seen the kunai being thrown until it was cutting his cheek, and she was behind him before the kunai had hit the ground. He also remembered the beating she gave Kakashi in Wave.

Once Naruto had retrieved Anko's kunai, the instructions were given. Each team was given one scroll, either Heaven or Earth. You had five days to reach the tower in the middle of training ground, after getting your scroll's opposite from another team. You failed if you failed to make it to the tower, obtain two scrolls, or if you lost one of your team members. You also failed if you opened the scroll before getting to the tower. You weren't allowed to quit in the middle of the exam, either. It was all or nothing.

"One last piece of advice…" Anko caught Naruto's eye purposefully. "Don't die!"

Team Seven signed their release forms and made their ways over to Gate Twelve, waiting for the signal to enter. The fence finally dropped, and the genin bounded into the forest, heading for the tower.

Half an hour into the forest, and Naruto motioned for them to stop. "What is it, dobe?" Sasuke asked irritably.

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "I, uh, I need to go to the bathroom."

Sasuke shook his head as Sakura looked vaguely disgusted by the fact that he said that out loud. "Fine, but don't make us have to come look for you."

Naruto nodded his assent and hopped off out of the clearing. In the next clearing over, Naruto unzipped and started watering the trees. The chakra he had been feeling started to close in and Naruto smirked.

Chakra sensing was actually an advanced technique that most people didn't learn until they were chuunin, and didn't master until they were jounin or ANBU. Naruto, however, felt the need to master it early on, if only to detect people who wanted to ambush the 'demon brat'. It was also an extremely useful skill when avoiding detection whilst setting up a prank. If you knew someone was coming from their chakra, it was easier to hide. Of course, this skill could be fooled by manipulating your chakra correctly, but not even Ibiki was paranoid enough to do that all the time.

Just while he was awake was enough for the scarred jounin.

However, right now Naruto felt three foreign chakra signatures closing in on him. As well as that, mist was starting to rise in the clearing.

Once the mist was dense to the point that Naruto couldn't see, the enemy nin started talking, using **Onsei Touei no Jutsu** (voice projection) to mask his presence. Not that it did much. Naruto knew right where they were.

"Bet a little rookie like you is pretty scared right about now, huh? Can't even see a foot in front of you face, huh? Why don't you just hand over your scroll and any equipment you have, and me and my team might let you live, huh?"

Naruto flashed a fanged grin and released some killer intent into the area. When he spoke, he used the same **Onsei Touei no Jutsu** his opponents were using. "I bet you're from Kiri, am I right? Your technique is a give away. But do you know the drawback to this technique?"

"This technique doesn't have any weaknesses, brat! You can't even see right now! Be glad we don't kill you here and now, huh! Now where's your scroll, huh?"

Naruto shook his head as he confirmed the locations of the Kiri genin. "Now, you should always know the weaknesses of your jutsu. I'm just trying to help."

A harsh grunt sounded through the mist as one of the genin went down from a strike to the back of the neck.

"You seem to be forgetting that I have more senses than just sight. And that I can still use them to track you down."

The team leader heard another grunt as his other teammate went down.

"And what you didn't know before attacking me was that I've trained with Momochi Zabuza, the master of the **Kirigakure no Jutsu**, and even he can't evade me completely with this technique."

The Kiri nin's strangled cry as Naruto took him out was only louder because of the fear he felt of the rookie he had attacked.

Three hours later, the Kiri genin team woke up, bound to a tree. Their packs were gone, as was their Earth scroll. The leader breathed a sigh of relief that they weren't dead. It was just like a stupid tree-hugger to do something like leave a potential enemy alive, but he wasn't going to complain. Anyone who had trained with one of the Seven Swordsmen could have definitely beaten them easily, and they were lucky they had just had their stuff stolen. They could steal more off another team, but they made the mental note to stay away from that Konoha team. They weren't likely to get a reprieve a second time.

--

Naruto had just made it back to the clearing when he saw Sasuke threatening another Naruto. He knew he hadn't made any clones; so that meant it was someone under a **Henge**. Naruto decided to wait for the best time to reveal himself. Not only tactically, but when it would look the coolest.

"**My vessel is an idiot."** Kyuubi shook its head from inside its cage, hearing what Naruto was planning.

Before Naruto could pull off a dramatic entrance, a huge gush of wind from the newly revealed grass nin blew him off into the distance.

--

Halfway through his flight, Naruto looked down and saw the team from Kiri he had tied up. They still weren't awake. Granted, it had only been a few minutes, but he must have hit them harder than he thought.

Naruto hit the ground at a bad angle and skidded to a stop thirty feet away. He lay there for a moment before kicking up and shaking away any dizziness left. Once his eyes focused, he realized what he was looking at. A giant snake.

"Fuck," Naruto said simply. There was no anger, barely any emotion at all, just resignation.

The snake snapped out just as soon as soon as the word left Naruto's mouth. He was still moving half speed from his crash, but was reorienting himself quickly. Naruto quickly bit his thumb and stuck it down his shirt, swiping blood across the weight seal and deactivating quickly.

Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't quite quick enough. Just as the gravity around him lessened, Naruto was swallowed whole by the enormous purple snake.

Sliding down the snake's throat (or whatever the hell part he was in at the moment, he wasn't entirely sure how snakes worked), Naruto was subjected to his tenant's rants.

"**You stupid ape-rat! You are the dumbest person I've ever been sealed in! You're also the only person I've been sealed in, but that's beside the point! Get us out of here now before I do! I'll flood you with so much youki that you'll burn your way out of here, but won't be able to move for a week! Dammit, fix this now!"**

Naruto shoved the Kyuubi's voice to the back of his mind while he frantically tried to think of a way to escape. He had faced one of Anko's giant snake summons before, but he had never got eaten by it. Instead, he had covered a log in exploding tags and threw it in its mouth when it got close enough.

That's it!

"**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

The snake, which had been on its way back to report to its master, stopped suddenly as it felt something bulge. Seconds later, it exploded in a mass of gore and blood before dispersing into smoke, returning to the summoning realm, wherever that may be.

Naruto gagged when he smelt himself, there was no hope being stealthy when he smelled like this. Even worse, he _squish_ed when he stepped. Even with his considerable sneaking abilities built by years of pranking shinobi, he couldn't eliminate it altogether. He knew he needed to get back to his team, but there was no way he could be any kind of help if he couldn't hide his presence at all. Cursing his luck, he made his way to a nearby stream, not bothering to reactivate his gravity seal.

--

Sasuke and Sakura froze under the killing intent that was bearing down on them. Sasuke shakily cut his leg just in time to avoid the kunai the insane Kusa nin had thrown at them, barely saving his pink-haired teammate. After just one exchange, Sasuke knew he was outmatched, for the second time in a single day. It stung, but Sasuke much preferred admitting to defeat to a superior force (not that there were many) to dying any day. But the worst thing was that Naruto had convinced them to let him carry their Heaven scroll, simply because most wouldn't believe he would be allowed to carry it, so he couldn't even give it up as a trade for their lives.

Of course, there was a small voice in the back of Sasuke's mind screaming that they would be killed even if they did give up the scroll, but Sasuke didn't want to even think about that.

So, Sasuke had no choice but to fight.

The** Sharingan** blazed to life, the world suddenly slowing down somewhat. Sasuke knew it would get better, but he hadn't had his bloodline for long, and it was already advancing quickly. The Kusa nin obviously took this as a sign to start fighting again. Even with the Uchiha bloodline, Sasuke was having trouble keeping up. It was like fighting that damnable fool in the green spandex again. Even if he was able to see the movements, he wasn't fast enough to react to them. And what was worse was that as soon as he sped up to compensate, the Kusa nin just got faster!

Orochimaru was somewhat pleased. He wanted Sasuke's body for himself, but it wouldn't do if the boy was weak. He had no need for weakness. He was currently testing the boy on his taijutsu skills, and while sloppier than his were at that age, they were still good enough to pass inspection. Coupled with the **Sharingan** and they were even better. The boy would do well.

"**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**!"

Mmm, the boy was somewhat skilled with his ninjutsu. He shouldn't have wasted the chakra thinking he could hit him, one of the Sannin, but against a lesser ninja, it was a good plan. He had been boxed in enough for the fire attack to cover his area completely. A well-timed **Kawarimi** with a **Tsuchi Bunshin** saved him from even have to run to get out.

Orochimaru kicked Sasuke in the back, sending him flying, while he was still trying to determine if the fire blast worked as planned or not. Orochimaru followed up by speeding past him and hitting the young Uchiha with a forearm strike that had him careening into a tree.

Sasuke recovered halfway through and rebounded off the tree trunk. Descending towards the snake-like nin, he flashed through a familiar set of hand seals. "**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu**!"

The small fireballs flew towards Orochimaru, who smirked. Knowing he wouldn't be able to see if he used the same attack again, he adapted. However, it wasn't near enough to beat him. He placed himself on a tree branch and let the fireballs pass on either side of him. It wasn't until the attack had passed him did Sasuke's true plan come into play.

The shuriken that had been hidden in the fireballs arced around the tree and the wire attached to them caught Orochimaru. Before he could escape, Sasuke threw three windmill shuriken, with stronger wire this time, and Orochimaru was bound tightly to the tree at this point. Still controlling the wire in his hands and teeth, Sasuke ran threw a last set of handseals.

"**Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu**!" The intense fires ran down the length of the wire and completely covered the area, even causing a small explosion when it hit. When the attack finally calmed down, Sasuke was left panting from the chakra expenditure.

But when the fires cleared, Sasuke was in shock. His opponent from Kusa was still standing there, only slightly singed by the devastating attack, and half of his face was melted off. Sasuke knew there was no way he was coming out of this alive now.

"Kukukukuku, very good, Sasuke-kun," the newly revealed man chuckled, as sinister sound that chilled Sasuke to the bone. "To be able to use the **Sharingan** so well at a young age, you may just surpass your older brother Itachi someday. I had fun testing you today. Allow me to give you a gift."

Faster than Sasuke could even think about reacting, the Snake Sannin's head shot out and bit the last loyal Uchiha on the neck. A volcanic burning erupted from the mark, and Sasuke immediately began to waver. "You seek power. That is just a taste of the power you can get from me. Find me when you learn this village has nothing left to teach. My name is Orochimaru, and I will make you powerful beyond your dreams."

Partway through his speech, Orochimaru became aware of a large chakra source speeding towards him. It was faster than he was expecting. Not as fast as him, but definitely faster than an average chuunin, approaching jounin level in speed alone. The source of Orochimaru's pondering revealed itself in a high branch above the rest of them, and he felt a huge amount of killing intent bring itself upon him.

Orochimaru smiled. It was good to see genin weren't forgetting the old tricks of simply terrifying opponents into submission, rather than just relying on flashy jutsu. However, he had gotten what he had come for, and had no time to spend playing around here.

"Orochimaru! You're gonna die for what you've done! Not just to me, but to Anko-nee-chan as well!"

Well, that was certainly interesting. He didn't remember doing anything to the Kyuubi brat (for he had recognized who it was by now), but it was interesting that he called his former student sister. Oh well, no time to think on that now.

Naruto saw the snake bastard below him, and knew he wouldn't be able to take him on by himself. He still couldn't even come close to Tsunade, the one called the weakest of the Sannin (not that anyone said that to her face), so he knew he would need help. Fortunately, Naruto knew just how to do that. All it took was six handseals and some blood.

"**Kuchiyose: Kitsune Shoutai**!" (Fox platoon)

More than a hundred foxes appeared in a mass of smoke. "Sakura!" Naruto yelled. "Get Sasuke to safety! I'll hold him off as long as I can!"

Having just seen Naruto pull off something that she had never seen him do before, she didn't argue. She grabbed Sasuke and dove into a hollow at the bottom of the tree she was under, hastily constructing a genjutsu to hide them. She could wonder about Naruto's new power later on, right now she had to protect Sasuke, who was now completely unconscious.

The summoned foxes ranged from the size of a large dog to the size of a large horse, all with either one or two tails. They were wearing metal combat armor over their vulnerable parts, and their claws and teeth seemed sharper and more vicious than a normal foxes would be. At the head of the group, next to Naruto, there was a single three tailed fox, the size of an elephant, wearing classic samurai armor, sans the swords.

Kyuubi had once told Naruto that the snake and fox clans had never been on good terms, he remembered that now. "That man is the head snake summoner, and the one who was the reason your lord was sealed! Rip him to shreds!"

The foxes gave a terrifying battle cry as they launched themselves at Orochimaru. He was faster than them, but the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming. He was certain he could beat these useless summons, but that would require he use more chakra than he was anticipating. If he used more than he planned, he was sure to be found out before he was ready. And that would not do at all. Orochimaru sighed. He never thought he would have to bring this out against a simple genin.

What Orochimaru didn't acknowledge was that Naruto has never been a simple genin; in fact, he has never been a simple anything.

"**Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Kuu no Tachi**!" (Sword of Kusanagi: Long Sword of Sky)

Orochimaru's form blurred as he grabbed hold of the legendary sword. The fox summons started to poof out of existence, returning to where they came from. The more powerful two tailed foxes formed a defensive perimeter, but Orochimaru tore through them like they weren't even there, slowing only slightly.

"I'll be sure to tell Anko that you proved a bit of fun before you died. I'm sure she will be happy to hear that," Orochimaru gloated before cutting a deep line from Naruto's right hip to left shoulder, then sinking into the tree branch.

"Find the snake!" Dachi, the three-tailed leader, commanded the remaining foxes. "I will get Naruto-sama to help!" Dachi picked up the fox summoner and dashed down to the forest floor where Sakura was waiting with the unconscious Sasuke. He moved straight past the genjutsu, as paltry human illusions could barely even touch the senses of a kitsune, and stuck his head in the hollow. The pink-haired girl screamed, but was silenced quickly.

"Help him, teammate of Naruto-sama," Dachi ordered. There was no room for argument. Already, Naruto was passing out. And for someone who could sustain as much damage and take as much pain as Naruto; that was serious.

Sakura didn't know what to think. Foxes were something of a taboo in ever since the Kyuubi no Kitsune attack twelve years ago. They were portrayed as evil in the village, and a sign of bad things to come. As such, she never much liked the furry mammals. However, after working with Naruto and Gintoku for so long, she had gotten more used to foxes. Even so, Gintoku was nothing like this imposing armored kitsune. Naruto had left Gintoku at home so he would be safe, and after seeing that Naruto could do something like this, she could see why he wasn't hesitant about leaving his partner at home. She wished she could summon someone to help her at times, though certainly not foxes.

But at the moment, she was being ordered by a fox to do something. _A talking fox_. She had never seen one of them before. The only talking animal she had seen before was once during a training session where Kakashi told them to evade capture then summoned a pack of dogs to sniff them out. One of those dogs talked. Perhaps it was just a characteristic of summoned animals. She'd have to read up on that later.

"I-I…I don't have the proper materials to help him," Sakura said weakly, ashamed. Due to the way she was raised, she didn't like foxes, but she wasn't above helping one if it meant saving her teammate. Unfortunately, she really didn't have anything that could fix that kind of injury. There were some bandages in her bag, but she didn't have enough to stop this kind of blood flow.

A large one-tailed fox leapt down and stood next to the samurai armored leader. "Dachi-taicho, I have found several bags that have Naruto-sama's scent on them. It is somewhat faint, and other scents are more prevalent, so we believe Naruto-sama took the supplies after defeating his opponents."

Dachi nodded his head. "It is good to see Naruto-sama was thinking ahead." He turned back to Sakura, who was staining her hands with blood while trying to keep the wound closed. "Use these to heal him." Again, it wasn't a suggestion.

"Gather the others and send them back here. We will stand watch until our chakra wears out." The younger fox nodded and bounded off. Dachi nodded approvingly as Sakura fed his summoner a blood replenishing pill and began using the recently gained supplies to stop the bleeding.

--

Anko stood between two chuunin, staring at the dead bodies before her. Dead bodies were nothing, she'd seen so many she was mostly unaffected by them now, but these were different. They were victims of one of Orochimaru's jutsu, and it scared her that he could be so close and not have them know it. She straightened and ordered the chuunin to contact ANBU so they could send some teams into the forest. She didn't know how much good it would do against Orochimaru, but it would be better than nothing. As soon as the chuunin were gone, Anko disappeared into the forest, her thoughts on her traitorous former sensei, and what she would do to him once she found him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it. Much thanks go to my beta, Dark Machine, who without, the Anko and Haku scenes would be much worse.**

* * *

Anko flew through the Forest of Death as she sought out her former teacher. She had to find him before he ruined anyone else's life. He had already killed a Kusa team without their notice, so what else had he done before they'd finally picked up on his presence? 

The Snake Mistress reviewed what she knew of her old sensei. Contrary to popular belief, she didn't know the man better than anyone else. She knew more than most, but that title went to Sarutobi, the traitor's old sensei, or maybe one of his old teammates, Jiraiya or Tsunade. Even though she had trained under him, and thought she had gotten close, she knew he was fooling her just as much as everyone else. She had a few insights into his character that others didn't, but she really just knew what he had taught her, and nothing of his personal life. Then again, who really knew what went on in the malevolent mind of Orochimaru?

However, Anko did know Orochimaru's two greatest goals: Immortality, and mastery of all the jutsu in the world. But that didn't explain why he was back in Konoha. It wasn't like they had any new jutsu that he couldn't have found elsewhere. In fact, Konoha hadn't had any mass influxes of jutsu since the Uchiha clan was slaughtered.

'_That's it!'_

Anko had long asked for any new information on Orochimaru, and provided it wouldn't make her run off after him immediately, the Sandaime usually gave it to her. He hadn't had it perfected back when he had abandoned Konoha, but this was the reason Anko knew about the soul transfer technique that Orochimaru was basing his immortality on.

If Orochimaru wanted to learn all the techniques in the world, the Uchiha bloodline would make it infinitely easier. Coupled with the fact that Orochimaru could change bodies, that meant he was likely after Sasuke.

Naruto's teammate.

Orochimaru didn't much mind taking out anyone in his way if it meant he got what he wanted.

Anko ran faster.

--

Ibiki looked at the report Kotetsu had just given him. Yakushi Kabuto was an unremarkable ninja, somewhat gifted in medical jutsu, but really just blended in with the crowd. He was said to be quiet and well mannered, as well as helpful to his fellow genin when they needed, though many doubted he would amount to anything. Kabuto had been found as a young boy on battlefield at Bell Flower Pass, where almost everyone on both sides had been slaughtered. He was the only one unmarked. No one knew why, but a Konoha med-nin (now dead) took him on as a ward, and trained him. He had failed the academy exams once before passing on his second try. After some time doing basic missions, Kabuto had taken the chuunin exams seven times, including the current one.

Ibiki knew that Kabuto needed to be looked at. He had passed under the radar until Naruto had pointed him out, but Ibiki was on the case now. Whether or not Kabuto was a spy, which he most likely was, he needed to be questioned.

Preferably by Ibiki himself. He wanted this one. It felt like it was important.

Ibiki sighed and found the best source of information on missing-nin he had. Unfortunately, that source was currently at the hot springs.

Running over the familiar rooftops of Konoha he planned how to approach this. He doubted he could fool his source into revealing it accidentally, and getting the source to break would take too long, and he didn't have his toys with him at the moment. Straightforward would probably be the best bet.

Once in the hot springs proper, everyone but he and his source left. Ibiki knew his scars bothered some people, but he couldn't care less. He wasn't proud of them, but wasn't about to hide them because he was ashamed, either. There had been one jounin who remained at first, but left after Ibiki motioned to him subtly.

"So Zabuza, what can you tell me about Orochimaru?"

Zabuza looked up. Apparently, he had been taking a nap. "Why do you want to know?" he asked through his bandages.

Ibiki set up his privacy jutsu. He could never thank his mentor enough for teaching it to him. "I have a person I'm looking into. I need to know about Orochimaru, more specifically, any subordinates you know about."

"What do I get out of this?"

"Tell me what you want, and I'll see what I can do. Nothing outrageous." Normally, Ibiki never bargained, but normally, he wasn't trying to get information out of an ally.

Zabuza thought for a minute. Ibiki actually started to wonder if he had fallen back asleep. "Put in a good word with Anko, and I'll tell you what I know."

"Anko?"

"Yeah, Anko. You know, lives in the same house as us, uses snake jutsu, really nice body, funny as shit, Anko."

"I know Anko. I want to know why."

Zabuza shrugged. "We've been dancing around each other since we met in Wave. We have common interests, and she can hold her own in a fight. Not to mention she's got a killer form."

Ibiki was silent. They hadn't exactly been quiet about their flirting, but that was all Ibiki was hoping it was. He didn't have feelings for Anko, but they had gotten close after years of living and working together. "If you hurt her, you'll have to answer to me."

Zabuza snorted and Ibiki felt insulted. "You'll have to take a number. If I ever hurt her, she'd kick my ass for doing so, and then I'd have to deal with a pissed off Naruto. And frankly, I'm not looking to test how sea serpents stand up to foxes in a fight."

Ibiki laughed deeply. He had heard what Anko did to Kakashi, so he knew she could take on Zabuza. He almost wanted to see Zabuza screw up just to see the carnage. "Fine, fine, I'll talk to her. But if she doesn't want to do anything with it, I'm not going past it. Now what do you know?"

Zabuza sighed and stretched, settling in for a deeper conversation. "First off, I don't know a whole lot about him. I stay the hell away types like him. Safer that way. From what I do know, he's started something big recently. I heard he's running that new village Oto out of Rice Field Country. Apparently, he has no problem sacrificing people, even if they're strong, as long as it saves his hide."

"What do you know about any subordinates?"

"I don't know anything about who anyone is. Like I said, I want nothing to do with that freak. I do know he likes to get them young. Kinda creepy, but I guess they're easier to mold if you find them at that age. By the time they're combat ready, they're totally loyal to him. I ran into one team a while back when I was up that way, and they were all 'Orochimaru-sama this', and 'Orochimaru-sama that', and 'I must help him achieve his dreams.' I don't need that." Zabuza stared Ibiki straight in the eyes. "Don't you say anything about Haku. I never meant for her to take it to that level. Naruto straightened her out though."

The conversation lasted longer than Ibiki expected, and Zabuza gave him some information he wasn't expecting on people who weren't Orochimaru, though he never got any proof that Kabuto was working with Konoha's greatest enemy.

--

Anko stopped on a seemingly random tree branch and four kunai immediately dropped into her hand. "Come on out, _sensei_," she spat in a mocking tone.

"So long since we've seen each other, and you're so cold to me, my dear Anko-chan," Orochimaru smirked as he materialized from inside a tree. "It's almost as if you don't like me."

There was a pause, and Anko was about to retort, but Orochimaru spoke first. "Of course, if what your _little brother_ was spouting earlier was true, that might be true." He laughed coldly as Anko froze.

And was surprised as Anko appeared directly in front of him before he could sense, sinking a kunai in his gut. She ripped savagely, and it was only because of Orochimaru's years of experience that it wasn't a fatal strike. Anko stabbed a kunai through his hand and grabbed his other, forcing it into a seal he knew all too well, having invented it specifically for this technique many years ago.

He replaced himself as fast as he could, knowing he could no longer play with Anko as he once could. She had gotten better, he had known, but there was some other factor in play to give her such strength. His clone poofed back into nothingness before Anko completed the technique, and Orochimaru concentrated on her dormant curse seal, forcing his chakra to react with it in a specific pattern.

He couldn't kill her through the curse seal; he hadn't perfected it to that point when she had gotten his gift. However, he was able to cause her severe pain throughout her entire body, which was what he was doing now. Even so, she was still moving towards him slowly, the determination on her face overriding all else.

"What are you here for, bastard?" Anko bit out through the pain.

Orochimaru ripped off his false face, the one that was mostly gone now anyway. "Such language, my dear Anko-chan. What would your mother say?" His voice went from scolding to mocking. "Oh, that's right, she's dead isn't she?"

"What are you…?" Anko couldn't finish for the agony.

"Just a little recruitment drive. This village has always turned out some outstanding ninja. Like myself. Too bad most end up realizing life was better spent elsewhere." Orochimaru concentrated on creating the little healing chakra he could. His chakra control was exceptional, however, his chakra was too corrupt by this point to be much good for medical procedures. Still, it would do until he could find Kabuto.

"I've just finished, actually. I just gave the most promising one a curse seal, just like yours. Just a one in ten chance he'll survive, but if he doesn't, he wasn't worth my time anyway."

"What…?" Sweat was now pouring off of Anko in waterfalls.

"I have a good feeling about him though. He's strong, unlike you were. After all, he does possess the blood of the genius Uchiha clan. Very beautiful, as well…the perfect vessel for me."

Anko was almost passed out at this point, but she was only a foot from Orochimaru, and she had a kunai in hand.

"As for the boy who called you his older sister, he should be dead by now. He was actually a bit of fun before I sliced him wide open. And you know about the poison of Kusanagi, so you know his chances of still being alive. Even if he is still alive, it won't be for long, and with the agony Kusanagi's poison causes, he'll wish he was."

Orochimaru's voice, where it had been teasing, turned cold. "Don't stop this exam. I'm having too much fun." Orochimaru started to sink into the tree. "If you stop it, I will destroy Konoha completely."

--

Shino led his team through trees of the Forest of Death. As much as Kiba liked to dispute it, Shino was the true leader of Team Eight, excluding Kurenai. Kiba was loud, but didn't have the necessary qualities to lead, at least not yet. Shino even allowed Kiba to look like he was leading at times. However, when it came time to truly lead his team, Shino stepped in.

Sometimes, Shino wondered what would have happened if Naruto hadn't sat with him at lunch that day back in the academy. It was because of Naruto that he was open enough to lead the team, rather than being so cut off from the rest of the world simply because no one else wanted to be around him. If Naruto hadn't sat with him that day, he might have ended up a closed off, emotionless bug-user, with no one close to him outside the clan.

No, that would never have happened. As good a friend Naruto was, it wasn't logical to think that he had that much of an impact on his development.

Kiba motioned that he smelled another team close by, and Hinata confirmed this with her** Byakugan**. There were two teams, actually, as Team Eight concealed themselves nearby to collect information on the teams. It was good luck that they had already gotten their need scroll through the assistance of a colony of Konoha Forest Leeches and they didn't really have to fight at all. However, being a recon team, they weren't about to pass up an opportunity to see two competing teams in action.

The tallest in the clearing, the leader of the rain team, spoke first. "Some little kids out here playing ninja, huh boys? Why don't you kids just give us your scroll and run along now?" The tall nin smirked cruelly. "But you, girly, you can stay with me."

"What the fuck, you pervert!" Temari started to go for her fan, but Gaara forestalled her with a simple hand gesture.

"Give us your scroll, and I won't kill you," Gaara said in his eerie monotone.

The rain team burst out in raucous laughter. "Bwahahahaha! You actually think you guys can stand against us? Hidden Sand is the weakest village in the exams, and the only reason you still have a Kage is because of tradition! Take this! **Jouro Senbon**!"

The leader of the rain team tossed half a dozen umbrellas in the air, spinning as they hovered. Hundreds of senbon needles shot down at Gaara, who simply stood there, arms crossed, looking vaguely annoyed.

"There's no way to escape this jutsu!" the rain leader cackled. "All the senbon are controlled by my chakra, so no matter where you go, I'll be able to get you!"

The dust cloud that kicked up from the attack cleared, and Gaara was still standing in the same spot, with the same look on his face, surrounded by a partial sand sphere. "Is that all?" the boy asked emotionlessly.

"N-no…way…"

"Just a few days ago, I would have killed you just for being here. Now I'll kill you because you insulted me, my village, and threatened my team. You made it rain needles. I'll make it rain blood." Gaara formed a hand seal and thrust his hand forward. "**Sabaku Ryuu**!"

Sand ran up the body of the rain leader, who immediately started struggling, to no avail. The sand quickly covered him completely. If left alone, he would suffocate to death. Fortunately, Gaara was more merciful than that. He would grant him an instant, painless death. Gaara clenched his fist.

"**Sabaku Soso**!" The sand imploded, killed the genin instantly.

After seeing their comrade fall so easily, the other two threw their scroll down, and scampered. Gaara looked at them and grunted, letting them leave. He knew his sand could have caught them, but remembered the old man's words about how he wasn't a monster. If Uzumaki wasn't a monster, he wouldn't be one either. It was the least he could do for the first person to do something for him without expecting anything in return.

Gaara's sand picked up the scroll and brought it over to him. After pocketing it, Gaara turned back to his siblings. "You didn't kill the other two," Kankuro said, though it sounded much more like a question.

"No I didn't." _'I'm no longer a monster.'_

Temari looked at her little brother fondly. She decided she would have to thank that Naruto kid when she saw him again.

As the Sand Siblings leapt away, Shino turned to his teammates. "We need to stay away from those guys," Kiba said. "Akamaru was shaking from the scent of that guy's power."

Shino nodded. "Naruto mentioned that team to me. If we stay away from them, they should not bother us."

--

The summoned foxes had run out of chakra a little over an hour ago, mainly because they had been summoned for a battle, something that should have just been a short period of time (and it was, just not the way they were expecting), not guard duty. Naruto would have given them more chakra if they had been.

Sakura didn't like the foxes, but they had made her feel a bit safer. At least she hadn't been alone. Now all she could do was wait until they woke up. Sakura looked over at the packs the fox had brought, the ones that had the things needed for her to bandage up Naruto. It had said that Naruto was the one who had gotten them, and the scroll they needed to enter the tower, after beating a team from Kiri. Not long after bandaging Naruto, another fox reported seeing the team that had the same scents as the ones on the bags tied up and unconscious. Naruto's scent was apparently in that clearing as well.

Just how strong was Naruto anyway, if he was able to take out a whole team on his own? And from the Mist, too. Kirigakure was not the largest or most powerful village of the Great Five, only Suna was smaller, but they did hold the title of the most vicious. Their ninja were said to fight to the end, no matter the outcome. There's no way the dead last would be able to take out a full genin team from Kiri by himself.

But, there was also no way the dead last could summon, especially not that many. Not even Sasuke-kun, the number one rookie, could summon. But that didn't change the fact that she had seen Naruto do it. And Sakura knew there wasn't a summoning contract with foxes. When they had discussed summoning at the academy, the instructors had told them all the known contracts, whether Konoha held them or not. Foxes weren't on there at all. So how could Naruto summon them? She doubted Konoha simply didn't know about the contract; it was possible, but unlikely.

And Naruto had never displayed that kind of power before, ever. Not even when he sparred with Sasuke-kun did he go that far. She had always assumed that he was going all out and couldn't beat the strongest of the graduating class, but now she wondered how much he had been holding back.

Sakura tossed a kunai at a squirrel that was coming close to her ground level trap so it wouldn't set it off. She had made that one as a set up for her aerial trap. It was fairly obvious, so she was expecting people to notice it, but if they didn't, so much the better. Rustling in the bushes on the other side of the clearing caught her attention.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" the one covered in bandages called as the Oto team emerged from their hiding place. "We're here to fight you! Get out here, coward."

Sakura didn't know what to do. She knew she couldn't take on a team by herself, even if they had been the weakest in the exam. She doubted she'd be able to take on even Ino-pig's team by herself. And this team had taken down Kabuto, someone who had a lot more experience than her.

She wished Sasuke-kun and Naruto were awake.

--

Zaku started walking towards the cave of overgrown tree roots where they knew the team was waiting. He had better things to do than challenge stupid tree-huggers like this. This Sasuke kid was probably all talk anyway.

"Zaku!" Dosu snapped. "Watch what you're doing. Overturned soil, and the fact that there's no grass here…it's an obvious trap. But traps don't do any good if they can be seen, little girl!"

The Sound Trio jumped into the air, intent on evading the trap that way. A giant log started swinging down at them, with no way to change their course. Sakura cheered internally for a moment before Dosu extended his arm and obliterated the log completely. The Sound Trio smirked triumphantly.

Sakura cut a string that was held taught next to her.

A trio of kunai rocketed toward Kin, who barely managed to duck. They lodged in the trunk of a tree, and another click was heard as another barrage of kunai was launched. Dosu blocked those with the metal object on his arm, and the three Oto nin landed.

Only to have to jump back to avoid the shuriken that shot at them from the sides. Unfortunately for them, this left them right where Sakura wanted them. On the pressure sensitive ground trap they had noticed in the beginning.

BOOM!

The Sound Trio wasn't directly on top of the trap, just of the edge of trigger area, so they didn't die, but the explosion was still big enough to send them flying from the force, and singe them slightly from the heat.

Naruto stirred as the explosion went off, and Sakura felt a faint flash of hope. If he was waking up, all she had to do was hold them off until then. All Naruto had to do was pull out some of that power she had seen from him when he fought Orochimaru (Sakura still shivered at the thought of S-class criminal), and they would definitely be safe.

Sakura rolled out of her hiding place, tossing kunai at the genin. They rolled out of the way, and Zaku rolled once more as a green blur blew by him. Lee stopped and skidded to a stop and came back through with a kick, Zaku barely dodging again.

"Who are you?" Dosu asked once Zaku jumped back out of Lee's range.

"I am the second coming of Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast, Rock Lee. And as I pledged when we were in Wave, I will protect Sakura-chan with my life!"

"Lee…"

Sakura glanced back at Naruto, who looked halfway awake now. "Naruto!" she hissed. "Get up!" Naruto jerked and his eyes shot open as he hissed in pain.

--

Naruto's blood was rebelling against him. He had apparently been bandaged, and that had saved him from spilling his organs, but Kusanagi's poison was legendary as something that killed you no matter what. Tsunade herself said the only way to heal it was with her special **Souzou Saisei**, and even then she wouldn't want risking it getting too far into her system. Apparently, merging with the most powerful demon in the world would allow you to survive it too.

Kyuubi had not allowed Naruto's disguise to fall while he worked out the poison, and for that Naruto was grateful. However, that also meant Kyuubi wasn't quite done, and so Naruto felt like acid was eating through his entire body even now, after most of the poison was gone. It was gonna suck to move around.

"**Kit, you may want to get up. The pink haired girl is in trouble, and the Uchiha is still unconscious."**

Naruto groaned and grunted as he staggered over to the opening between the tree roots. "Knock it off!" he demanded, hoping it would work, but not really thinking it would. Surprisingly, everyone did indeed stop. Lee was on the ground with blood leaking from his ears, and Sakura had just apparently just cut off her hair and done a suicide charge at Zaku. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were frozen in mid-leap as they were coming out of the bushes. "I'm in there trying to get some rest so I can clear the poison out of my system, and you're all out here making a bunch of noise. Shut! Up!"

Dosu and Kin just looked at each other, dumbfounded. Zaku, however, had no such problem continuing running his mouth. "Noise, huh? Well try this on for size. **Zankuuha**!"

Instead of trying to run out of the way of the air blast, Naruto quickly ducked back into the hollow and pressed himself against the wall, waiting the attack out. "What the hell? Scaredy-cat, get out here and fight like a man!"

Naruto grabbed a few kunai and explosive tags from the Kiri team's bags, noticing Sakura had depleted the supplies they had in there somewhat. Probably for traps, he decided. Dashing outside, or at least as fast as he could dash with as much pain as he was in, he tossed the kunai at the feet of the Sound Trio. They jumped away, but the explosion masked Naruto's escape as he jumped into the trees.

"Coward, get back out here," Zaku called as he readied his hands for another attack. Before Naruto had a chance to start his next attack, an explosion of twisted chakra came from the hollow where Sasuke was.

The Uchiha stalked outside, a half-crazed look in his eyes and black flames covering half of his body, and spreading. "This power…"

"Sasuke-kun, your body," Sakura gasped.

Sasuke looked at his curse seal covered hand, **Sharingan** activated. "Don't worry," he said softly. "I feel more powerful than ever. This great power is overflowing…"

Sasuke snapped his attention to the Sound Trio. "He gave it to me. I understand now. I am an avenger, and I must gain power, even going to the devil himself." Sasuke's eyes started spinning slowly. "You did this."

Without saying anything else, Sasuke disappeared, reappearing in front of Dosu, his fist sunk in the other genin's stomach. Sasuke blurred again and left Dosu to crumple to the ground.

"Shit! Take this, you tattooed freak! **Zankyokukuuha**!" Zaku shot his most powerful attack at Sasuke, who had just reappeared in front of Sakura. "HA! Nothing even left of that bastard. Argh!"

Sakura was deposited at Ino's side as Sasuke grabbed Zaku's arms and wrenched them back, taunting him. Seconds later, a sickening snap filled the air as Sasuke pushed them past the breaking point. Pushing Zaku to the ground, Sasuke turned to Kin, but couldn't go any further.

"**Kage Mane no Jutsu**, success!" Shikamaru gloated as the technique connected. "Sorry Sasuke, but I can't let a girl get beat up, even if it's troublesome to stop you," he said lazily. Naruto dove out of the trees and landed in front of his teammate.

"You beat them, teme. She didn't even do anything."

"No, I must test this power!" Sasuke shouted.

Naruto nodded understandingly, shocking everyone there. Shikamaru almost let up on his technique. Naruto grabbed his teammate by the shoulders and looked him square in the eye. "Sweet dreams, teme," he said just before he slammed his forehead in the bridge of Sasuke's nose.

Sasuke slumped into unconsciousness as Shikamaru released his jutsu. Kin took out the scroll they were carrying and placed it one the ground before picking up her two teammates. "Your team is strong, and we can't beat you right now. I offer you our scroll to let us leave. But if we encounter each other in these exams again, we will not run."

Sakura looked like she was about to ask something, but Kin disappeared into the forest before she could get it out. "So, what happened while I was out?" Naruto asked with a grin, looking at Sakura's disheveled state and now-ragged hair.

Sakura hissed venomously before she moved over to Ino, who had just offered to clean up the rough job the kunai had done on her best friend's hair. Absently reactivating his gravity seal, Naruto walked over to Shikamaru and Chouji, who had nothing to do until Ino got done with Sakura. Tenten and Neji had already left with Lee after the weapons mistress gave him a look that told him they were going to have a talk later.

"You guys got your scroll yet?" Naruto asked casually.

"We got an extra Heaven Scroll from a scouting Taki nin, but we need an Earth scroll to get into the tower," Shikamaru explained.

Naruto shrugged. "You can have the one that was just left by that Oto girl if you want. I got the scroll we needed from a Kiri team back before we were attacked."

"Yeah, who did that to you, anyway?" Chouji asked, pointing to the long bandage on Naruto's front. He knew Naruto was strong, and if there was someone who could beat him in the forest, that was scary.

"Orochimaru," Naruto spat, his name sounding like a curse. "Bastard cut his way through half the **Kitsune Shoutai** before he sliced me open. Fucking poison still burns," he explained with a grimace.

"You faced down the most famous missing-nin Konoha has, and you're still alive?" Shikamaru asked with some disbelief. Naruto nodded. "Troublesome."

Ino finished up with Sakura's hair and her team left. Naruto dragged Sasuke back into the tree hollow, Sakura looking at him irritably. Apparently, he wasn't giving her Sasuke-kun the proper respect by dragging him around by his ankle, but the blonde didn't much care. After a few minutes, Sakura spoke up.

"Um, Naruto? How'd you get so strong all of a sudden? And how can you summon? That's not a genin level skill, we're not supposed to have enough chakra to attempt it until we're at least high level chuunin, and foxes weren't on the list of known contracts when we learned about them in the academy."

Naruto looked at the ground, not answering for a full minute. Just as Sakura was about to ask again, Naruto spoke up. "Sakura, I didn't get as strong as I did all of a sudden. I've just never had to show it in front of you before. I've trained in some way or another every single day since I was seven years old, even if it was just reading up on something new. As for summoning, I've always had an unnaturally high chakra reserve for my age. I've trained that so it's even higher. That's why I have enough chakra to summon. And I can summon foxes because of the training trip I took a few months back. Beyond that, I can't tell you."

"Why not? We're teammates, and we shouldn't have secrets like this from each other," Sakura said heatedly.

Naruto sighed heavily. "Sakura, some things need to remain secret. And when I said I couldn't tell you, I meant it. It's an S-class secret. I could break it without much trouble, because it's about me, but it's still an S-class secret. Besides, you have never been particularly nice to me. You've tolerated me, and treated me worse than I deserved. You don't need to know, and if you ever do, I'll tell you. Beyond that, don't worry about it."

"And as for teammates not having secrets from each other, why don't you ask Sasuke-teme why he didn't tell us when he activated his bloodline?"

Sakura didn't have an answer for that, so she was incredibly relieved when Sasuke started waking up. However, it would give her something to think about.

--

Ibiki entered the tower in the center of the Forest of Death, and set about finding Anko. He needed to tell her his findings, mainly so she wouldn't hurt him, and he also had to, he shuddered, talk Zabuza up to her.

Surprisingly, he found her in the infirmary, with a puffy-eyed Tsunade running a scan over her. "You're doing better, but you need to stay in bed for another day. After that, you can start moving around. That attack did more to you than you thought, and if I see you out of this bed, I'll _make_ you stay in it longer. Understand?"

"Fine," Anko grumbled unhappily.

"What the hell did this to you? I didn't know there was anything in this forest that you couldn't handle," Ibiki said without preamble as Tsunade left the room.

"I met up with my sensei in the forest," Anko said bitterly. Ibiki started. Nothing could affect Anko quite like her old sensei. And while Zabuza's information said Orochimaru was planning something big, nothing pointed towards the traitorous Sannin actually coming back to Konoha.

"I tried to kill him," she continued. That wasn't a big surprise; Anko had wanted to kill Orochimaru for a long time. "He said he killed Naruto-kun!" she almost wailed, tears suddenly falling. Apparently, she had been holding this in.

The words didn't register for a moment, but when they did, Ibiki felt something inside him break. Though often seen as cold and aloof, Ibiki was as close to Naruto as anyone could be. The blonde boy had wormed his way into Ibiki's heart over the years and to lose him would be horrible. "When he said he killed him, I just went nuts, and I almost killed him, but I used a suicide jutsu to do it, and I realized he was a clone just in time to stop it. But he gave the Uchiha a curse seal and said he sliced Naruto-kun open! He's dead! Naruto said he'd always be here, and that he'd never leave me, and now he's gone. He's always been here…"

Ibiki stopped listening as Anko ranted, becoming more incoherent as time passed, eventually dissolving completely into tears. He just sat there, numb.

--

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura pushed open the door to the tower, none of them talking. Sakura was musing about what Naruto had said earlier, and Sasuke was thinking about the power he had felt earlier, and how weak he was now in comparison. Naruto was merely hoping there was a hospital wing in the tower so he could get the remnants of the poison out of his system. It wasn't as bad as it was an hour ago, but it was still impeding his performance and the sooner it was out, the sooner he could relax. He was just glad they hadn't run into any other teams on their way here.

After reading the quote on the wall, Naruto decided they would need to open the scrolls, but Sakura and Sasuke didn't agree right away. He was able to convince them, and after tossing the two smoking scrolls together, Iruka popped into view.

He congratulated them on passing the second test with two days to spare, and explained the quote to them. Iruka led them to their rooms and after that showed Sasuke and Naruto to the infirmary.

Sasuke was led into another room so a med-nin could fix his nose, a quick and easy procedure. Most med-nin could easily fix noses and fingers due to the common training accidents of a shinobi village.

Naruto found himself in a room with a crying Anko and a stoic Ibiki. "Hey nee-chan, what's wrong?" he asked, very concerned. Nothing could make his adoptive sister cry, almost nothing anyway.

Anko looked up at Naruto through her tears, disbelief written over her face. Moments later though, Anko tackled the blonde and was clutching him close to her as they lay on the ground, thanking Kami and everyone else she could think of, incoherent with happiness. Then she smacked him on the head for doing something as stupid as challenging Orochimaru. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't about to let him get away! What happened to you?"

"I met up with Orochimaru and he told me he had killed you, so I tried to kill him."

"Stupid nee-chan! I'd never forgive you if you got yourself killed going after him," Naruto said, trailing off towards the end.

Anko rubbed her hand through his hair fondly and smirked. "Well, we'll just have to get stronger, won't we?" She hugged him tightly again, mashing his face to her chest, causing him to struggle.

Ibiki blinked as he brought himself back to reality enough to see that Anko wasn't on the bed anymore. Looking around confused, he saw her hugging the boy who was family to him. _'Sometimes a little brother, sometimes a son, but always family.'_ Ibiki's spirit soared and the scarred man smiled a genuine smile for the first time in quite some time.

--

Tsunade had come in to heal the person she had been told had been attacked by Orochimaru, and while she had been expecting a mangled near-dead body (for that's often all her former teammate left if he didn't outright kill you), she most certainly didn't expect to see the boy Anko had only hours ago told her was dead, the boy she was certain was another victim of her cursed necklace. She kissed Naruto on the forehead before wrapped him up in a bone-crushing hug and nearly suffocated him with her bosom as she thanked him for not being dead.

She then punched him on the top of the head for being stupid enough to try to fight Orochimaru.

Naruto wasn't sure what was worse. Tsunade and Anko trying to smother him with their breasts or beating him unconscious with their fists.

After picking himself up, he showed her the gash Orochimaru put in him. Shizune and Tsunade grimaced at the sight, the wound had closed thanks to Naruto's healing ability, but it was still a sickly green from the poison. Since it had been diluted somewhat, Tsunade got to removing it with an advanced poison removal jutsu. Twenty minutes later, Naruto was good as new with strict orders not to do any physical training until the end of the second test. Tsunade mentioned she was going to rest up to wait for her chakra to return. Removing Kusanagi's poison, even just the remnants, took more out of her than she thought it would. But before she left, she said she had something she needed Naruto to do.

Ibiki called Naruto back, and when no one was looking, gave him a tight hug, thanking him for staying alive. It went without saying neither of them would mention it ever again.

Naruto followed Tsunade down the hall before stopping a seemingly random door. "Fix her," was all the instruction he got before being shoved unceremoniously through the door and heard the doorknob being ripped off behind him.

Naruto scowled at the closed door, annoyed at having been locked in. Not that a door like that would stop him for very long, any ninja worth his pay could easily break it down, but it was still rude. He turned back to the dark room, seeing a shuddering figure laying on the bed. He slowly made his way over to them, trying to make sure he wouldn't startle them. It wasn't a good idea to startle someone in a ninja village, no matter how good you were.

As he got closer, Naruto realized it was Haku, sobbing. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on her back. Naruto knew it was serious when she didn't react. "Haku-chan, what's wrong?"

Nothing could be heard except for Haku's sniffles for a moment. "I couldn't save him…" she said quietly, barely loud enough to be heard. "I should have been able to save him, but I wasn't…"

"What are you talking about? Who couldn't you save?"

"Naruto-kun, he was killed…"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. Didn't she recognize his voice? Maybe she wasn't quite all there after hearing he been attacked by Orochimaru. And if he hadn't been able to heal as much as he had, he probably would be dead now, so he supposed it did make sense.

However, now he had to convince Haku that he was actually alive, and not a figment of her imagination or a particularly cruel genjutsu.

"No, Naruto didn't die, I'm right here, Haku-chan."

"Yes he did, you're not real. You can't be real, Naruto-kun's dead."

Even after psychology lessons from Ibiki, Naruto wasn't the best at dealing with sad or distraught people. Happy people, angry people, nervous people, those were all easy, but sad people were particularly difficult. So, Naruto decided to do what he always did, go with his gut and make it up as he goes along.

Naruto grabbed Haku in a hug and squeezed her tight, forcing her to look at him. "Does that feel like I'm not real? Trust me, I'm here."

"Genjutsu…" Haku murmured, but Naruto could see she was beginning to believe he hadn't actually died.

"If I'm a genjutsu, why don't you dispel me?"

Haku was silent for a moment, obviously searching for a response before forming a half seal and flaring her chakra for a full ten seconds. Naruto didn't even shimmer. "Naruto-kun?" she whispered, still disbelieving slightly.

"You didn't really think that dirty old snake could really beat me, did you?" he asked with fox grin.

"Naruto-kun!" Haku shouted, finally shaking her doubts completely. No one could quite recreate that smile, not with the emotion he put behind it. She tackled him off the bed and held him tightly, breathing in his scent. She looked up at his harsh wince, and loosened her hold on him, hearing a sigh of relief. She rolled his shirt up, eye's widening as the scar came into view. Once it was fully revealed, Haku looked up at Naruto, her eyes demanding an explanation. He let nervous laugh escape as he scratched the back of his head, stalling for time. "I uh, I thought you knew?"

"I do. I want to hear it from you," she said firmly, making it clear Naruto wasn't getting away clean from this.

"Uh, well, I ended up getting separated from Sasuke and Sakura, and after I was eaten by one of Orochimaru's snakes–"

"You were eaten?" Haku demanded frostily. "No one ever mentioned _that_."

"I don't think I told anyone else. But that's not the important part."

"You were _eaten_. Of course it's important."

Naruto froze under Haku's gaze, and decided sharing as much information as possible was a good idea, just so she wouldn't find out from someone else second-hand. "I blew the snake up with a ton of clones, and if that didn't work I could have summoned a fox to tear the slithery bastard apart. But anyway, since I was covered in snake guts, I had to wash myself off if I had any chance of hiding myself, so I was late getting back to Sasuke and Sakura, right?"

"I see…" Haku said slowly, wanting more information.

"Well, when I got back to them, I saw Orochimaru finish up giving Sasuke a curse seal, and Sakura was looking kinda beat up too. I don't really like them too much, but I never wanted anything like Orochimaru to happen to them. That, combined with how much I already want to kill him…and I kind of lost it."

"Define 'lost it'." It wasn't a suggestion.

"I summoned the** Kitsune Shoutai** and had already released my gravity seal," Naruto said quietly.

"What's the **Kitsune Shoutai**?"

Naruto looked anywhere but Haku. "About a hundred and fifty foxes who do nothing but train to be the best fighters all day long. And Orochimaru kind of threw up a sword and hacked through half of them before I could even react. I was sliced open before I knew it. Then he ran off. I think he just didn't want to be found by ANBU or something."

Haku studied the scar a moment longer before locking on Naruto's face. "What? Is there something in my teeth?" Haku dipped her head down and gave him a very firm close-mouth kiss on the lips, not breaking away even as Naruto's eyes widened.

Naruto had never had positive contact like this before. Ibiki wasn't much for any kind of contact, but he had his reasons, and Naruto understood them. Anko was certainly affectionate, and liked giving him the hugs and kisses that a normal sister would, but that was nothing like this. There was huge difference between one of Anko's kisses to the forehead and what Haku was doing now.

Haku broke away smiling thirty seconds later, ecstatic that she was able to kiss Naruto like that and get away with it. The only other time she had gotten close to doing that, Zabuza had walked in, looked at them, grabbed Naruto by the back of his coat and tossed him in the river. None of them ever mentioned it after that, though Zabuza had woken up outlined in senbon needles the next day.

"What was that for?" Naruto asked softly. "Uh, not that I'm arguing with it, mind you. Just wanted to know what I did to earn that."

Haku's smiled never faded as she shook her head. "Why did you attack Orochimaru? You knew you wouldn't have been able to win."

He shrugged. "He did a lot to hurt Anko-nee-chan a long time ago, and he had just hurt Sakura and Sasuke. I wasn't about to let him get away with that."

"You fought for your precious people. That should be rewarded."

"Well, if it'll get me more of those, I'll do just about anything."

Haku laughed lightly and kissed him on the corner of the mouth. "As you wish, Naruto-kun."

--

The second test finally ended, and Naruto and Haku had only run into each other once more. It wasn't that they couldn't find one another, that was simple enough. Rather, Anko had walked in on them sharing a brief kiss and wouldn't stop teasing them about it. It was even worse if they were together. As Haku had other duties she needed to attend to, and Naruto wanted to visit with his friends, it was easier to stay apart.

The contestants gathered in the auditorium of the tower, a wide-open room with a surrounding balcony and a stage where all the jounin and the Hokage were standing. At the very back of the room, there was a giant sculpture of a pair of hands set in the ram seal. Naruto thought it looked like a giant had punched through the back wall.

Sarutobi began explaining the true purpose of the exam, that it wasn't to promote good relations with other countries or secure relations, but was a replacement for war. That by having the chuunin exams open, it allowed shinobi villages to show their strength without the continent descending into war. Naruto, while knowing it was true (Ibiki having explained the purpose the last time the exams had been held in Konoha. They had gone to watch the finals that year); thought the whole speech was a little overdramatic. He could have at least put a joke in there or something. Finally a sickly looking jounin appeared in front of the crowd of genin, and informed them that since so many teams passed, they would need to have preliminaries to cut down on the number of participants in the final exam. When he asked if anyone wanted to withdraw, Kabuto raised his hand, citing injuries from the Forest, as well as the attack on him from the Sound Trio before the first test.

Naruto thought that was particularly fishy, as he could see one person staying in the fight, who had both arms in slings.

An electronic board high on the wall flashed as it picked out the first two fighters.

**Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akadou Yoroi**

The two smirked at each other, both knowing that there was no way the other would win. Yoroi knew he would suck the little rookie dry before he got the chance to do anything. Sasuke knew he was bound to win because even though the seal Kakashi put on him was messing up his chakra control so much he was unable to use his fire jutsu to any degree of effectiveness, he was able to activate his **Sharingan** and use his taijutsu. He wouldn't need anything more for this fool. Though he was still a little sore from the sealing process.

The match started as soon as the other genin cleared the floor. Yoroi charged straight in on Sasuke, hands glowing with blue chakra. Sasuke activated his doujutsu, but couldn't tell what the technique did, as all he could see the chakra do was funnel back into his coils.

After Yoroi got his hands on him, Sasuke figured it out. He could feel his chakra leaving his coils, and knew he had to get away. His opponent was a good grappler, and it took a few seconds to get out of the hold, but in that time, Yoroi took almost half of his already depleted chakra.

Naruto saw his teammate struggling, and while he might not like him, he was still his teammate, and would cheer him on. Of course, he dosed his cheers with liberal doses of insults, to make it fun for him.

Sasuke smirked as he heard his blonde teammate, and remembered something. The Uchiha threw a few shuriken to distract Yoroi, before he charged him and kicked him high in the air. He jumped up, shadowing Yoroi's arc, directly behind him. Sasuke threw a left hook that Yoroi blocked, only for Sasuke to follow his feint up with a vicious kick to Yoroi's undefended ribs. Before Yoroi could do anything to get out of the way, Sasuke shouted, "**Shishi Rendan**!" rotated his body and brought down a brutal ax kick on his opponent's chest, sending him careening at the floor, landing with a sickening crunch as his bones broke.

Hayate coughed and watched as the medic-nins treated Yoroi and eventually took him off to the medical wing. As the genin mumbled to each other about the match, the board started flipping through names again. Eventually, the names stopped and the next match was declared.

**Nara Shikamaru vs. Tsuchi Kin**

Kin jumped over the railing, while Shikamaru just walked sedately down the stairs, grumbling all the way about how he would have to fight troublesome females, and how he couldn't be seen losing to a girl. Ino yelled down some encouragement, as well as a threat to talk to his mom if he lost, giving Shikamaru even more drive to win his match.

"**Kage Mane no Jutsu**!" Shikamaru started, his shadow stretching out to grab Kin, only for her to dodge it.

"The Nara clan is well known outside of Konoha, did you think I would fall for your stupid techniques? Besides, I saw your jutsu in the forest when you used it on the Uchiha. All I need to do is watch your shadow and I'll be fine." Kin punctuated her statement by throwing a pair of senbon with bells attached. Shikamaru dodged, and the needles stuck in the back wall, showing the kind of force they had been thrown with. The bells jingled again and the Nara's vision immediately started to blur. Kin appeared to double and Shikamaru let off a chakra flare to shake himself of the genjutsu. Then he noticed how she was doing it.

"So, you attached wire to the bells and ring them in order to put people under your illusions. I understand now."

Kin scoffed. "Just because you know how my technique works doesn't mean you can counter it."

Shikamaru smirked. "**Kage Mane no Jutsu**, success!" he crowed triumphantly.

"What are you ta–" Kin cut herself off as soon as she found that she couldn't actually move, as she had been caught by the Nara clan's most basic jutsu.

"I can manipulate my shadow however I wish, within a certain limit. This includes making it thin enough to cover as the shadow of the wire connecting the bells." As he spoke, his shadow widened from a wire thin line to a more appropriate sized connection. Shikamaru set his hands in a new seal and declared his win. "**Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu**!"

The shadow crept up Kin's body, a hand forming and Kin started struggling, only to realize it wouldn't do any good. The shadowy hand latched onto Kin's throat, and slowly strangled her. Shikamaru stopped when she went limp and stopped struggling, a sign she was unconscious, as it was really too troublesome to kill her.

The medics tended to Kin as Shikamaru ambled up the stairs to his team. "That was so cool," Naruto praised. "I didn't know you could do that with your shadow, I thought it was just that copy me stuff."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I could have won with just **Kage Mane**, but it was just too troublesome."

Naruto snickered. "Yeah, well it's pretty cool anyway."

Kin was taken back up to the balcony and set down with her teammates, as she would be fine shortly. The board shuffled names again and the fighters made their way to the floor as their names were announced.

**Aburame Shino vs. Tsurugi Misumi**

The fight started out hard and fast, with Misumi charging Shino with a haymaker cocked, as the Aburame stood there impassively. Misumi's fist connected, and for a second, he thought he had won, before he noticed his fist was_inside_ his opponent's head. Shino wavered, before dissolving into a cloud of bugs that quickly covered Misumi almost from head to toe, cluttering in hard to remove areas.

The true Shino walked out of the shadows with his hands in his pockets. "You should forfeit now," he advised. "My Kikai allies are currently eating away at your chakra, and won't let go until you're completely drained."

Misumi smirked behind his facemask. "I just have to get rid of these stupid bugs, and then I can take you down. **Raiton: Raikou Rappu**!" (Lightning Wrap)

Lightning crackled around Misumi briefly as he chuckled, frying the Kikai, their dead and smoking carcasses falling to the floor around him.

"Oh man, this is gonna be ugly," Naruto said with a grimace.

"What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" Ino asked curiously.

"That's right, you never spent a lot of time with Shino at the academy," Naruto recalled. "Messing with bugs like that guy just did is the worst thing in the world to do in front of Shino. Especially since it was_Shino's_ bugs. Four-eyes there is going down."

Kakashi, who had been listening with a wandering ear, spoke up. "It's not just Shino, it's fairly characteristic of the Aburame clan. They don't like it, and should you do it, you're most likely not going to wake up for a while, not at all if you're really an enemy."

Shino narrowed his eyes, though the only sign was a slight tightening of the skin around his glasses. Misumi charged him again, only for Shino to catch his badly telegraphed punch and strike him four times in the gut before Misumi wrenched himself away, sucking up air desperately. But the Aburame was having none of that. He moved in a pulled his opponent in close before striking at his elbow in an attempt to break it. Sadly, there was no sickening crunch even though the arm bent the wrong way.

"Heh heh, I've had my body modified so it can fit in any space. You'll never be able to break my bones."

Shino ignored the comment and struck at Misumi's knee, and while not breaking the joint, made it difficult for the stretchy nin to walk. He followed up with a blow to the back of the neck.

Misumi leapt back shakily, unsteady on his feet, and looking as though he was about to fall. He went to extend his limbs to try to take advantage of range, but he didn't have the chakra for the maneuver.

"You may have altered your body, but other than keeping me from breaking your bones, you don't have the chakra to exploit it," Shino explained.

"What are you talking about, I squashed your stupid bugs, you idiot."

Shino drew a kunai. "My allies ate your chakra faster than you thought, and before you foolishly killed them, they had already devoured a good deal of your reserves. I've also been putting more of my allies onto your body as I struck you, allies you obviously haven't noticed until now." Misumi's eyes widened and he began the handseals for his electric technique once more. "I wouldn't suggest doing that," Shino said as he walked towards the other genin.

"Why?" Misumi asked, foolishly stopping his handseals.

The cool sharpness of steel slid snug against Misumi's throat in response. "Because," Shino's voice said into his ear, "you've been talking to a genjutsu." The Aburame in front of Misumi wavered and disappeared as Shino twisted into visibility behind him, holding a kunai to his throat. "Forfeit, now," he ordered.

Misumi hesitantly raised his hand. "Proctor, I wish to forfeit."

"Winner, Aburame Shino," Hayate coughed.

Shino walked sedately up to his team, Naruto complimented him on his match, and asked how his colony was doing. Naruto had learned enough to know that an Aburame was sensitive about losing their allies, and after such a big hit, he wanted to make sure his friend was okay.

"My colony has taken a rather large hit, and should I have to fight again, I fear my effectiveness would be greatly diminished. I only have approximately one quarter of my allies left after that despicable attack."

Naruto mentally translated. 'I better not have to fight again, or I'm screwed. And if I see that bastard again, I'll stomp his ass into the ground again.'

After Misumi was taken away to be treated for mild chakra exhaustion, Hayate announced the next match.

**Sabaku no Gaara vs. Kinuta Dosu**

Dosu jumped the banister as Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand. "Forfeit, or I'll kill you," Gaara said, his monotone sounding threatening.

Dosu cocked his head. "No, I think I'll beat you here and now." After a brief bout of taijutsu, during which Gaara didn't even deign to move, simply allowing his sand to block the attacks, Dosu swung his right arm, sound waves emanating from it, attacking Gaara, forcing him wince and bring his hand to his ear. Seconds later, sand formed around his ears to block the deadly sounds and looking distinctly like a pair of fluffy (if sandy) earmuffs.

Gaara shot his hand out and sand rapidly covered the floor. The blood scented sand chased after Dosu, who was just barely staying ahead of it, even going all out. Shortly, Dosu was snared by the sand, and covered from head to toe. The Oto genin was brought in front of Gaara, who was still standing in the same spot he started the match in.

"Do you yield?"

Dosu was conflicted. He couldn't think of a way out of the sand, but he knew if he forfeited, Orochimaru would kill him. He made up his mind and decided to take his chances with Orochimaru after the match. Surely his leader would understand there was no way to win.

A flash of killing intent destroyed that thought. It seemed Dosu would have no choice but to continue.

"No."

"**Sabaku Soso**!" There was a spray of blood along with a crunching sound, and Dosu was dead, no longer recognizable.

His fate had been sealed when he decided to continue, Temari decided. Gaara said he would kill him, and he did. It was that simple. But Gaara was growing, she noticed. He had given his opponents warnings both here and in the Forest, whereas before he got the new seal he would have just killed them outright, without any thought to letting them get away. And in the Forest, Gaara had even mentioned protecting her and Kankuro as reasons why that guy from Rain was going to die. And he even let the other two go. He might not be strictly sane, but he was a lot better than before. She would have to find someway thank that blonde kid, Temari resolved, one way or another.

After most of the blood was mopped up, the next match up was shown.

**Uzumaki Naruto vs. Rock Lee**

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** Remember to Review!  
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	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: As always, thanks go to my illustrious beta Dark Machine for making sure this was the best chapter it could be. And for those of you who have been waiting for the Naruto/Lee fight, have fun and make sure to review.**

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"Yosh! It is finally my turn to fight!" Lee cheered. In a blur of movement, Lee was in the middle of the room. Naruto jumped down right after him. "Naruto-kun, this will be a most youthful fight. Hold nothing back!" 

"Same to you, Lee," Naruto agreed. "But it's kind of funny, isn't it? We were both dead last at the academy, and now our fight's going to be the best one today."

"Yosh! A most youthful declaration, Naruto-kun. I accept your challenge. Our fight will surpass all the others!"

Hayate declared them ready to start, and Naruto was immediately on the defensive, caught under a barrage of powerful kicks.

"Oh man, there's no way Naruto's going to be able to beat Lee," Sakura worried.

Ino brushed off the statement. "Naruto-kun's a lot stronger than you give him credit for, Forehead. He'll beat this guy."

Sakura turned to her once best friend with wide eyes. "You don't understand, Ino-pig, Lee's stronger than Sasuke-kun. And even if Naruto was a lot stronger in the Forest, Sasuke-kun lasted a lot _longer_ against Orochimaru than Naruto did."

"Geez Forehead, you really think any genin stands a chance against a Sannin? Orochimaru was probably just messing with Sasuke, and didn't want to bother fighting Naruto-kun because he knew it would be a lot harder."

Sakura shook her head. "You weren't there, so you didn't see how much better Sasuke-kun did. Naruto's a lot stronger than I thought, but unless there's something he's never told me, he's going to lose." Not wanting to argue anymore, knowing she was right and there was no way to get that across to Ino, Sakura turned back to her teammate's fight.

Naruto took a nasty kick to the ribs, but struck a nerve cluster behind Lee's knee in return. Lee hopped away, favoring his other leg. "Very good, Naruto-kun. You took my hit to deliver one of your own. You are certainly a youthful opponent!"

Lee struck another nerve that released what Naruto had done to him (rather painfully too, if Naruto recalled his anatomy lessons correctly), and started raining down blows again.

After a few seconds, Naruto caught a break and took enough time to form his favorite hand seal. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Lee was suddenly surrounded by ten blondes, but to his credit, his smile never left his face. The only other person Naruto knew who smiled through a whole fight was Anko, but it wasn't the same kind of smile, so Naruto felt fairly safe.

Naruto did noticeably better with the aid of his clones, but they were still dispersed quickly by Lee. He replaced them immediately, but it was soon obvious that things weren't going to work as Naruto had planned.

Lee cleared out the last clone and drove towards Naruto, who just barely dodged the first punch. Lee followed it up with low sweeping kick that tripped Naruto before he could recover.

Naruto threw his body weight back and brought his legs up in an attempt to catch Lee, but the spandex clad boy was too fast. But the wild kicks took Lee's attention away a second too long and Naruto grabbed Lee's leg to lock it up, hopefully to either break it or get Lee to submit.

Naruto made progress and got Lee to fall down, but the taijutsu specialist quickly turned the maneuver against him and brought a heavy leg down on Naruto's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to give up the hold.

Lee bounded away, giving Naruto time to recover if he could. Thoughts of ending the fight while Naruto was down were far from his mind, he hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

Naruto sucked down air, and was ready to fight again quickly, more quickly than any normal person should be. He brought out another dozen clones, and dived into the fight once more.

Lee dodged the first punch as two clones grabbed his arms, pinning them to his sides. He twisted his body, slinging the clone off his right arm and into an approaching attacker, before dispersing the one holding his other arm with a punch to the face. A high spinning kick ridded him of another two clones. Naruto grabbed Lee in a rear chokehold as his remaining clones all rained down blows on Lee's torso.

Lee exploded in a flurry of movement, sending Naruto smashing into the wall, and destroying the remaining clones before retreating to the other side of the room.

Naruto pulled himself off the wall, grinning as he rubbed the ache out of his ribs. "Sorry Lee, but I'm not going to lose. You're stronger and faster than me, but I know I can last a lot longer than you. The only way you're going to beat me down is if you can hurt me bad enough to make sure I'm not going to get up." Naruto's grin widened. "And I don't go down, and I don't give up. Bring it on."

Lee was surprised Naruto had lasted this long against him. The only other genin who could was Neji, though Lee often spent half the match dodging disabling strikes and trying to keep his tenketsu from being sealed. Once they were, Lee couldn't keep moving long enough to finish the fight youthfully.

"My rival, I must apologize, because Lee is going to win this match," Gai proclaimed. "Your student is strong, but Lee will not fail."

Kakashi rolled a lazy eye over to his long-time training partner. "I wouldn't say that. Naruto has a point. I've never seen him give up a fight. Unless Lee pulls out something I haven't seen, Naruto will win just by attrition."

"Very well, my hip rival," Gai said firmly. He looked at Lee, who was currently destroying another squad of **Kage Bunshin**. "Lee! Take 'em off!"

"Gai-sensei? Really? But you said–"

"I know what I said. Lose them!"

"Yosh!" Lee gave a firm nod and flipped up on the top of the ram seal statue. Naruto watched patiently, giving Lee the same respect he had been given. Lee had had several chances to finish him off, and decided not to, so Naruto would let him do this, even though Kyuubi was warning against it. Naruto knew it was a bad idea to allow this, but Naruto wanted to test his limits against someone his own age, just like Lee did.

Lee held up his weights, one set in each hand. A few people scoffed, knowing that a little training weight wouldn't do any good. He might get a little faster, but it wouldn't be anything fight winning.

BOOM!

Two enormous craters formed where the weights hit, kicking up dust clouds as tall as the statue Lee was standing on. While everyone, including Naruto, was stunned, Lee disappeared, leaving only an afterimage.

Naruto would have panicked, but he didn't have time. Lee's fist sunk into his gut, and the next thing Naruto knew, he was literally inside the wall, his impact having created a crater, and the pain of having two of his ribs broken. A warm burning in his stomach told him that Kyuubi was working overtime to heal his injuries.

Lee looked at the dust cloud where Naruto resided and sighed. He would have liked Naruto to have lasted longer, but knew that without his weights, Naruto couldn't win. "Proctor," Lee called, "I do not believe Naruto-kun will be getting up. You may also want the medics to come in. I fear I may have hit him a bit too hard on that last strike."

"**Juuryoku Fuuin: Kai**!" (Gravity Seal: Release)

Everyone's attention snapped to the clearing cloud of smoke, just in time to see a blur emerge and punch an off guard Lee in the face. Lee was knocked back several feet, giving Naruto time to flip through a few handseals. "**Dokukiri**!"

A miasma of poisonous purple smoke was expelled from Naruto's mouth, who had given up any pretences of a fair and clean battle. That last strike had been centered right over the area where Orochimaru had cut him, and if it weren't for Kyuubi going into overdrive healing his wounds (and baying for blood, but Naruto was ignoring that fairly well), he wouldn't even be standing right now.

Lee escaped the cloud, only to see Naruto finish another three handseals. "**Kirigakure no Jutsu**!" A huge bout of mist descended on the room, obscuring all sight. Neji and Hinata were able to see through the unnatural mist with their **Byakugan**, but everyone else was blinded by the jutsu. Sasuke, who had been watching the match with his **Sharingan** active, cursed. The taijutsu style Lee was using would fit well with his family's style, and he had copied the** Kage Bunshin** from Naruto, but realized the chakra cost would be too much to be practical. He had long known Naruto had a large chakra supply, but to be able to use it the way he did was simply ridiculous. Maybe the dobe had an emerging bloodline that allowed for extremely quick chakra regeneration. It would explain why he ate so much all the time, though not his lack of manners. Perhaps it would be worth it to check out the possibilities of an emerging bloodline. Naruto had been showing that he was a great deal stronger than Sasuke previously thought, and if he did in fact have a bloodline, Naruto would make a worthy rival to test himself against.

Even if he didn't have a bloodline, the dobe would do as a test of his progress if rumors of his performance in the Forest were correct. Yoroi wasn't a good enough test, and he had been partially disabled by that seal Kakashi had put on him. He wanted to be able to fight someone at full strength, and hopefully he could find that in the finals.

Naruto wasn't quite as fast as Lee, but knew that Lee couldn't use the mist as well as he could. He trade punches in a hit and run style for a while, but while Lee couldn't see Naruto, whenever Naruto moved in to strike, Lee got in at least two or three strikes as well.

Quickly, Naruto's mist lifted. He hadn't been concentrating on maintaining the mist, and with the fast paced motion going on inside it, it didn't last long. When Lee could finally see his opponent again, his perpetual smile grew. "I didn't want to use this until I could see you, as I knew I could not defeat you without it. **Kaimon, Kai**!"

An explosion of chakra burst from Lee's body, surprising everyone. Kakashi snapped his now attentive gaze to Gai. "Gai, tell me you didn't teach your student that technique!"

Gai looked into both of Kakashi's eyes. "I did. The **Hachimon** is Lee's greatest technique. He has the potential to wield it better than I."

"Even if he had the potential, the technique is much too dangerous for a genin to know. I've lost respect for you Gai."

Gai's look turned cold. "What would you know about that boy? Nothing. Don't talk about things you don't understand. He has a dream that he desires to accomplish, a dream that he would give his life to accomplish. With that technique, hopefully he won't die to make it happen."

"Um, Kakashi-sensei? What technique are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"The **Hachimon** is dangerous technique that uses the body's eight chakra gates. The user opens each one systematically, removing the body's natural limits, making them stronger and faster, eventually stronger than most can dream.

"But there is a serious drawback. Opening the gates damages the body, causing the user pain and serious injury. Few have the potential to reach it, but those that can open the Eighth Gate, will temporarily gain power that surpasses the strength of the strongest Hokage. However, if the Eighth Gate is opened, the user will definitely die."

"**Kyuumon, Kai**!" A second wave of chakra washed over the people in the room, shocking those present. Many hadn't heard Gai's words, and were wondering how many gates he could open.

"Gai, how many gates did you say Lee could use?"

Gai's face was one of unmistakable pride. "Five gates, my eternal rival."

Lee rushed forward with unknown speed, and kicked Naruto under the chin, sending him flying. He followed quickly, and his bandages started wrapping themselves around Naruto, binding the blonde.

"Now!" Naruto shouted, confusing those that could understand his order.

A second Naruto leapt out from the shadows, on a direct course for Lee. Lee saw the clone, but was already committed to the attack, and couldn't get away in time. "**Bunshin Daibakuha**!"

The clone was a little over seven feet from Naruto and Lee when it exploded, as Naruto didn't want to test his healing factor against being blown up, but the force was more than enough to break apart Lee's technique and send them flying. Lee crashed harshly into the floor while Naruto's side found the railing of the balcony before falling to the ground.

Both were moving enough for Hayate to keep the match going, but it was a good thirty seconds before they were able to stand up again. "**Kirigakure no Jutsu**," Naruto murmured as he was steadying himself. The mist cloud wasn't as large or dense as before. The audience could see the shadows in the mist, but couldn't figure anything beyond that.

"I'm ending this now, Lee. Sorry you couldn't win."

"Naruto-kun, you have fought a valiant battle, but I am far from done." Lee's face screwed up in concentration (not that anyone could see it), and seized the familiar feeling of the first gate, pulling the doors open once more. The pain was familiar, and almost welcoming, but so much more than he remembered. Perhaps he shouldn't be doing this again so soon. A little voice in the back of his mind said that he definitely shouldn't be using the **Ura Renge**. "**Kaimon, Kai**!"

Everyone watching saw the silhouette that was Naruto quickly move in on Lee, and latch on. Three seconds later, a strangled cry came from Lee, and seconds after that, Lee slumped to the floor, unconscious. The mist lifted to show Naruto swaying over Lee's body. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto," Hayate announced.

Naruto nodded wearily, the effects of the fight catching up to him all at once. He really shouldn't have gone so fast on that last attack. Not to mention he had used up just about all his chakra. "That's good," Naruto stated firmly, but tiredly. He turned his gaze to Tsunade who looked concerned about how exhausted he seemed. "Baa-chan, you should probably look at Lee. I'll be fine." With that, he fainted.

--

Sasuke scowled as Naruto fainted, in a weird way proud that his teammate had won his match, but that was overridden by a severe resentment for beating Lee where he hadn't been able. Sasuke had been suspecting Naruto's true strength for sometime, but didn't think it would have been anything like this. There was no way someone could get this strong in such a short amount of time.

Sasuke started thinking back over the practice matches he had had with Naruto at their team meetings. Sasuke couldn't remember losing a single match to him, but after seeing Naruto do something like this, Sasuke started noticing certain things about their fights as he went over them in his mind. Times where Naruto would have an opening but didn't exploit it. Times where Naruto seemed to speed up for a second to block a debilitating strike before going back to normal speed. At the time, Sasuke just passed it off as adrenaline and luck. Now he wasn't so sure.

His mind drifted to the mission in Wave. He had already known the tree-climbing exercise, and apparently known the water-walking exercise that Kakashi had shown him as well. It made a bit of sense, now that he thought about it. Naruto had claimed several times that he had gotten training from the Legendary Kunoichi, Tsunade. Originally, Sasuke had thought the blonde was lying to try to impress them, but as time wore on, it became more and more likely. And after seeing just how familiarly his teammate talked to the medic-nin just assured it. Naruto had gotten training from one of the Sannin.

Sasuke could deal with that. Really, he could. Kakashi was said to be one of the strongest fighters of the Leaf, and had mentioned taking Sasuke on as an apprentice back in Wave if he could prove himself worth it. Of course, Sasuke couldn't tell if the one-eyed nin had been serious at the time, but he had been getting personal training at the time, so he took it as such. And if Kakashi was one of the best in Konoha, surely there couldn't be much difference between him and one called the weakest of the Sannin.

But Zabuza had mentioned training Naruto as well. Sasuke remembered just ignoring the comment, but now it seemed fairly important. Perhaps Naruto had more hidden than Sasuke knew.

He almost wished he hadn't been tuning Sakura out when she was babbling at him earlier. He vaguely recalled her mentioning something about Naruto being able to summon, but didn't think it was important. He had already seen his blonde teammate summon things from scrolls. She was probably just saying something about him being able to create the basic seal array. Naruto had mentioned it on their mission when Sasuke had finally asked, but Sasuke wasn't terribly impressed. Sealing skills wouldn't help him defeat _him_.

--

Sakura stared in awe as her teammate collapsed from exhaustion. Even in the forest when she saw Naruto summon all those foxes she hadn't thought he was this strong. The summoning, if she discounted all the signs pointing to impossibility of a genin pulling off a summoning, could be attributed to Naruto's gigantic chakra supply. She had half expected Naruto to try that again here, but he had seemed content to test his taijutsu against Lee, only to get beaten back every time he advanced. But he had still lasted longer and put up a better showing than Sasuke-kun had before the match was even half over.

Sakura had known it was over for Naruto when she saw Lee take off his ridiculous weights. Weights were a common training tool for taijutsu specialists, and when removed enhanced speed, but she had never known of someone who took it to the extreme that the green spandex wearing genin did. She had seen Lee send Naruto into the wall, quite literally _into_ the wall, and knew there was no way her teammate would get up after that.

Of course, Naruto did, pissed off, faster, stronger, and doing better than he had before he had been hit. It had gotten to the point where she couldn't see the fight for the speed without channeling chakra to her eyes, and even then it was still mostly a blur.

Not to mention he was using ninjutsu she had never seen him use before. With as much as he bragged and shouted about he was going to be Hokage, she expected she would have known all of his skills by now. That had been disproved in the forest when he proved capable of summoning, and now he had displayed several techniques Sakura hadn't known existed before he had used them in the fight. Not to mention being able to fight so well in the mist he had conjured up. He couldn't have been able to see in there, which was the point, but she never knew Naruto was that good. He had always been the dobe, the class clown, the misfit, but now that belief had been shattered.

Sakura took note of the victorious smirk Ino sent in her direction and realized something she had always really known, deep down.

She was the weakest on the team.

Sakura felt her eyes start to prick with the beginning of tears, and looked around the room. Lee had apparently been the dead last of his graduating class, and his fight with Naruto was going to be permanently etched in her memory as one of the most ferocious battles she had seen, she knew that now. If they could come that far, what did that say for her?

Sakura blinked away unshed tears and resolved to herself to become stronger so no one would ever have to protect her again, reinforcing her vow to herself from the forest.

--

Kakashi was genuinely surprised when Naruto won the fight. He knew Naruto had hidden most of his ability, and knew of Naruto's near legendary stamina, but didn't quite think he had what it took to beat Gai's genin. Not that Naruto wasn't a good ninja, but after seeing the weights drop, Kakashi expected it was over. But his student got up and kept going, doing better than before.

Once Lee had opened the First Gate, Kakashi was certain Naruto wouldn't be able to keep going. He also needed to berate Gai again for teaching his student such a dangerous technique, but that could wait. But Naruto had had a plan in effect anyway. He hadn't caught when Naruto had made the exploding clone, but he expected it was when he had still had the cover of mist. Zabuza had taught him that one, most likely, and Kakashi was pleasantly surprised how well Naruto had utilized it. For as loud as Naruto was, he was quite good at hiding his presence.

Kakashi hadn't expected Naruto to win. But he couldn't say he was upset, either. He'd have to visit the boy in his hospital room after the preliminaries were over. Naruto had lived up to his title of the Number One Most Surprising Ninja once more.

--

Shino smirked lightly behind his coat. Not much, and out of his friends, only Naruto would have caught it. Of course, Naruto would have called attention to it, just because of all the emotions Shino ever showed, a smirk was fairly uncommon. But right now, he had good reason to smirk.

Shino had been watching Naruto's teammates as they contemplated Naruto's win. It was obvious what they were thinking about, at least with Sakura and Sasuke. Shino couldn't read Kakashi, but his allies were reading fluctuations in the man's chakra that meant he was contemplative. Shino didn't much like the masked nin, and so turned his attention to the other two members of the Rookie Nine. Sakura had always been expressive with her emotions, but whenever she was dealing with something she didn't know how to deal with or something she had never seen before, it was always worse than normal. Sasuke was harder to read, but was far from the emotionless log some people thought he was. And coming from the clan that was most experienced with suppressing their emotions, he was more than easy to read.

The emotions that flicked across the faces of Naruto's teammates were almost comical to Shino. They obviously hadn't been observant enough to notice that Naruto's skills were far beyond what they had thought. Shino felt it was a bit ridiculous that people who were supposed to be close and hold no secrets were so uninformed about their teammate. He knew part of it was Naruto's unwillingness to divulge information about himself, but if they would bother to put aside their emotions for even a second, think logically, and actually pay attention to their teammate, they could tell more about Naruto than they ever imagined possible. Naruto could be difficult to read, but honestly, they didn't even try.

Shino watched as Naruto and Lee were taken out by the medics. He would have to make his way to the medical wing after his team was finished their matches.

--

Naruto blinked his eyes awake and immediately shut them again. He couldn't understand why hospitals insisted on painting everything a blinding white. It was utterly impossible to wake up pleasantly. It merely reinforced his opinion that hospitals were merely an extension of hell, no matter what Kyuubi said about the actual place.

There was a pleased gasp off to the side as Naruto tried to get up, as well as a forceful hand pushing him back onto the bed. "Good, you're awake. I was afraid you'd be out longer than this, but I guess not."

Naruto saw Shizune standing over him looking at a chart, most likely his. "What were you thinking pushing yourself like that? You know Tsunade-sama told you to take it easy."

"She just said not to do any training until the end of the second test. She didn't say I couldn't go back to normal after that."

Shizune clenched the clipboard in her grasp tightly. "Baka! You were severely poisoned and nearly disemboweled less than a week ago. What makes you think you can fight like you did so soon? You could have killed yourself with that exploding clone! Not to mention all those other times you should have just stayed down. It would have been so much better for you if you had."

"I wanted to see what I could really do," Naruto reasoned weakly, seeing the look on Shizune's face. In the back of his mind, Kyuubi chuckled at his predicament.

SMACK!

Naruto winced as Ino smacked him on the back of the head. "You could have really hurt yourself with what you pulled out there today! How do you think that would have made us feel?"

Naruto looked at the females surrounding him and immediately felt bad about what he had done. He looked to the males around him for support and found none. He had just been having fun. Sure, it may not have ended up that well, but at the time, Naruto had been enjoying himself like he hadn't in a long time.

Luckily, or unluckily, Tsunade came over, saving him from further browbeating. "What did you do to finish your fight?" she asked seriously, the tone of a professional who was doing her job.

"Uhh, why? Lee shouldn't be out for too long. I didn't do anything too bad to him."

"What did you do, Naruto?" Tsunade asked, her eyes flashing, telling Naruto it was in his interest to spill the beans immediately.

Naruto glanced around the room, making sure no one outside those who knew his secrets were there. His fingers moved through the seals for the privacy jutsu Ibiki had taught him, making sure they wouldn't be discovered. He sighed. "You know how you can refill someone else's reserves by flowing your chakra into their coils?"

Everyone nodded, having either seen or experienced it at least once.

"And you know how youki is damaging to humans if it gets in their system?"

Everyone nodded again, a few looking like they were figuring out what he had done.

"Well, you know that the **Shiki Fuujin** is designed to filter Kyuubi's chakra into mine? Well, after the ritual that we performed that merged us, that sort of changed. It still does that, but my chakra is now almost equal parts human chakra and youki. I can still reach in and get the pure youki of Kyuubi if I need to, because I haven't absorbed anywhere near all of it."

"Wait a second, I thought you had three tails," Chouji asked, puzzled.

Naruto nodded. "I do, but that doesn't mean I have absorbed three tails of Kyuubi's chakra. For foxes, the number of tails you have corresponds to power and amount of chakra. However, I'm not a youkai, just a hanyou. Because of this, my chakra isn't as potent or as powerful as a full demon's is. A hanyou's chakra is actually only about a third as potent. And since I'm a hanyou, that's what my tails refer to. I have three tails, but I'm technically only as powerful as a one-tailed demon."

Once everyone indicated they understood, Naruto continued. "Youki can be deadly when in someone's chakra coils. However, since my chakra isn't as potent as youki, I can flow it into someone else's coils and all that will happen to them is that they'll be knocked out for a couple of days, tops. Sooner if you treat him for chakra poisoning. So you shouldn't have to worry about Lee."

Tsunade looked over her shoulder where Lee was laying, unconscious. "Well brat, congratulations on making something else go completely weird."

"Huh?" came Naruto's intelligent response.

"Lee has never been able to use chakra. This is because his coils are almost literally tied in knots. Everyone initially thought it was because he simply had no talent that he wasn't able to use chakra. It was only after a Hyuuga looked at his chakra system that Lee's condition was discovered. There are only very few procedures for healing the chakra system, and absolutely none for healing damage on the scale Lee was at. The chakra system is something that requires complete control to manipulate through outside forces, which is why the Hyuuga clan trains so extensively to master their clan's style. They affect the chakra system, and without training, they could never do what they do. They would likely just destroy the chakra coils completely, instead of cutting off the flow temporarily like they do.

"I'm getting off the point," Tsunade continued. "The delicacy and control needed to work on the chakra system is why nothing was ever attempted to heal Lee's coils. No one believed it could be done. Truthfully, nothing should have ever been able to fix him. But when Neji was up here earlier, looking in on his teammate because 'it would be unbecoming of a Hyuuga not to', I noticed something that didn't match Lee's previous records. I had Neji take a look at Lee's system while since he was the closest Hyuuga on hand, and he said that Lee's coils were no longer knotted and unusable, but looked like a normal person's coils now, even if they were a little on the small side, something that could be fixed through basic chakra building exercises."

Naruto was confused, and so was everyone else. "Why'd that happen?" the blonde shinobi asked.

"If Lee's chakra system was normal, things would have gone as you said. He'd be out for a couple days, but fine eventually. Nothing would have changed. Even where it wasn't normal, nothing like this should have happened. However, since Lee had the First Gate open at the time, more chakra than normal was flowing through his coils, stressing them. With your more potent chakra, and your lack of finesse, the intensity of all the chakra stressing his coils simply forced them to work the kinks out, for lack of better terminology. At least, terminology you'll understand."

Naruto scratched his head. "Heh, oops? I didn't mean to mess with his chakra coils."

"You actually ended up doing him a favor. In time, he'll probably be able to use ninjutsu and genjutsu. But if you had done the same thing to someone who didn't have such a damaged coils system, the stress could have possibly destroyed their coils."

"So I can't use it anymore, got it," Naruto nodded resolutely. He wasn't about to start using techniques that could permanently damage someone like that, at least not in spars and whatnot. If an enemy deserved it, maybe. Of course, not many people used the strategy Lee did, so it probably wouldn't come up that often anyway.

Tsunade shook her head. "No, your tactic should still work. The extra force came from the fact that Lee had the First Gate open. If he hadn't, this probably never would have happened."

"Oh." Naruto really had no clue what to say to that.

"Oh Kami," Tenten cursed, speaking up for the first time. Everyone looked at her questioningly. "I just realized what Gai-sensei's going to be like now that more things to teach Lee than just taijutsu. They'll never stop training to sleep!"

Everyone who knew Gai and his student blinked before the image took hold and they burst out laughing. Team Ten had never met the green-clad jounin outside of the prelims, so they were confused as everyone slowly regained control over themselves. "Hey, what about the rest of the matches? Shouldn't you guys be down there?"

"Those troublesome fights are over. You were out for a couple hours, baka," Shikamaru explained lazily. "The rest were a little boring though."

"Not Hinata's!" Chouji interrupted.

Shikamaru waved his hand. "Most troublesome fight of all…" he muttered.

"What were the fights? Who won?" Naruto pressed.

"I lost to Forehead Girl, of all people!" Ino exclaimed bitterly, startling Naruto. "I can't believe it."

"You didn't lose, it was a tie." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He had heard this line of complaints three times already.

"It doesn't matter if it was a tie, I didn't win, did I?" None of the males present said anything. They weren't about to risk the wrath of an angry kunoichi. The only person to do that and come out relatively unscathed was Naruto, and that was only because of his healing factor, and it really wasn't something he was eager to repeat.

"I lost too," Tenten announced. "That other guy from Suna, the one with the face paint. I thought I had him pinned down, but it was a puppet he had look like him. He was behind me with a kunai before I knew it."

"I tied with that Zaku guy from Oto," Chouji said happily. He knew he wasn't the strongest in the world, and after seeing how strong he had been in the Forest; a draw was pretty good in his mind. "We ended up sending each other into the wall at the same time when he used that air attack and I hit him with **Bubun Baika no Jutsu**."

"Kiba was rather foolish during his match," Shino stated. "He allowed his overconfidence to get the better of him. His fight with the Suna kunoichi Temari could have been won if he had thought logically and not tried to pull a stupid stunt like he did."

"What'd he do?" Naruto asked.

Shino gave the Aburame equivalent of a deep sigh. "Kiba believed that since he was fighting he was a female, he should let her have the first blow, to keep it fair, since she was obviously weaker."

"Dumbass," Naruto mumbled as Shizune smacked him on the head for his language.

"She used her fan to create a chakra imbued gust of wind, and blew him into the wall. He just woke up twenty minutes ago."

Naruto just shook his head as the girls fumed at the reminder of Kiba's attitude.

"What about Hinata? You said she had an interesting fight."

A cold silence descended on the group, and Naruto felt a shiver go down his spine. He was just glad the feeling didn't seem directed at him.

"She fought her cousin, Neji," Ino started. "Before they even started fighting, he gave this big long speech about fate and the Hyuuga clan, and Hinata looked ready to quit right there and then, but Chouji started cheering her on, and said that she shouldn't give up, or something like that. She got all steely resolve and whatnot, and suddenly, she and Neji are trading these super-fast hits. She got a few good hits in on him, but Neji was really dominating the match. She ended up getting hit in the chest, and Asuma-sensei explained how the Hyuuga style involves using chakra to hit organs and the chakra points. Apparently Neji had hit her with chakra right over her heart, and she was coughing up blood, but she got up anyway. Forehead and I started cheering her on, kunoichi pride, you know, and they started fighting again, but Neji hit Hinata again, right in the same spot. Neji started this big long monologue about how it was his destiny to win, and how a weakling like Hinata could never have hoped to win against him. Hinata got up _again_, and told him that she would never give up, would never go back on her word, and that he was the one suffering, not her. Neji finally lost it completely and charged her again, even though she was coughing up blood and could barely stand."

Ino sighed. "Luckily, before he got to her, that sick proctor, Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, and Kurenai-sensei stopped him. Neji made a smart remark about the Hyuuga main house getting special treatment, and I wanted to smack him. But Shino was awesome and got down there to check on Hinata while everyone else was still making sure Neji wasn't going to do anything else. The medics started working on her, and Shino threatened to kill Neji if he met up with him in the finals." Ino glanced at the stoic Aburame. "It was kinda scary. You were a lot more intense than I've ever seen."

Shino nodded his assent briefly. "Perhaps I overreacted slightly; however, Hinata-san is my teammate and friend. Neji was attempting to kill her, even after he had beaten her. It was my place to defend her."

Naruto quirked his head. "I didn't know you were that close with her."

"I was not. However, Hinata has been training very hard lately, and I joined her after remembering how you once said that it was better to train with a partner than on your own. We have both grown stronger, and are better friends as well."

Naruto nodded. He would have to tease his friend later on, but right now there were more important things to figure out. "How's Hinata now?"

"She received serious damage to her internal organs," Tsunade answered. "Shizune fixed her up to begin with because I was still trying to figure out what the hell you did to Lee, but she'll be fine as long as she takes it easy and sees me for a few more sessions. The kind of damage she received couldn't be properly healed all at once."

Naruto let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He had never been close to Hinata, but he knew she had never hated him like most other people did. It would have hurt to hear that one of his friends wasn't going to make it. "That's good. So what's the third test?"

"There will be a tournament in one month. We will fight before a panel of judges to show our skills. You don't need to win to become a chuunin, but the longer you last, the more you can prove yourself," Shino explained. "I will be facing the puppeteer from Suna in my first match."

"And I have to deal with the troublesome girl from Suna," Shikamaru mumbled.

"Who am I fighting?" Naruto asked, eager to hear his opponents.

"Neji," Tenten confirmed. "He's going to be really hard to beat, and if you do win, you're going to have to fight either Sasuke or that psycho Gaara. I heard some things about him. He's called the 'Bloody Desert' because he's been crushing people with sand since he was six."

"Gaara's not that bad," Naruto countered. "He's just had a seriously bad life. He's a jinchuuriki, like me, but he was never accepted by anyone. He was shunned by the entire village," he said quietly. "I could have ended up like that if not for you guys."

Naruto brightened. "And if Sasuke does manage to beat him somehow, I'll just kick teme's ass all over Konoha."

"Maybe you could blow Neji up with a clone like you did with Lee?" Chouji added thoughtfully, if slightly belatedly.

Naruto shook his head. "I might be able to, but I don't want to do that if I don't have to. It uses too much chakra." Everyone rocked back. If Naruto said it used too much chakra, that was a serious technique. "I don't have it mastered, really. A normal **Bunshin Daibakuha** takes about ten times the chakra of a normal **Kage Bunshin**. Unfortunately, since I haven't completely figured it out yet, I'm stuck wasting a whole lot of chakra in it and over packing it with chakra. Until I figure something out, my version uses about ten times the chakra of a normal **Bunshin Daibakuha**. So it's like making a hundred **Kage Bunshin**, and I can't really do that over and over, or make a whole bunch at once, even with my chakra supply."

Nobody said anything for a brief moment. Everyone there had seen Naruto train, and they knew just how long he could go and how much chakra he had. To say he wasn't able to do something because it took too much chakra was something they didn't even want to try and process. Tsunade and Shizune both knew how chakra exhaustive **Kage Bunshin** was, and that meant it was a truly scary amount of chakra Naruto used on a daily basis. It was more than enough to kill any normal chuunin, and most jounin. Only jounin-level ninjutsu specialists could even think about the chakra reserves Naruto did, and he was still only a genin. It was astonishing.

"My youthful student!" Everyone jumped and was immediately on guard as Gai burst into the infirmary, over the top and shouting. "You fought with the fires of youth on your side! It was only misfortune that you opposed someone even more youthful than yourself!"

"GAI!" Tsunade shouted. "Shut the fuck up! This is a hospital, not a training ground. Keep quiet or I'll toss you out on your ass, got it?"

Gai nodded fearfully, quailing under Tsunade furious gaze. "Besides, Lee's not even awake yet. You can keep the ranting to yourself until he regains consciousness."

There were a few more minutes of idle discussion, but Tsunade quickly drifted off with Shizune, saying there were other patients she needed to check on. Asuma came in shortly after, looking for his team and saying that they would be leaving soon. Team Ten took him up on his offer to guide them back through the forest, knowing they could get back through themselves, but not wishing to do so. Shino decided he would go check on Hinata, leaving Tenten and Naruto alone.

"Um, Naruto-kun?" Tenten started tentatively.

"Yeah Ten-chan?"

"Neji asked me to help him train. He wants my help to finish a move he's been working on."

Naruto felt a strange pang when he thought about Tenten spending a month with Neji, but wasn't completely sure why. He quickly repressed the feeling.

"So? He's on your team. Even if I don't like the guy, you should help him just for that."

"But if I help him, he'll have another move he can use against you. And from what he said, it was supposed to be something big."

Naruto shrugged as best as he could from where he was on the hospital bed. "If he does figure it out, it'll just be that much better when I beat him. I've got a month to train, and frankly, I'll be fine. He's going to try and figure it out anyway, and if he's the genius that people say he is, he'll probably end up figuring it out anyway. If you help him, you can make sure he doesn't hurt himself when he's training, and that he gets it right."

A look of confusion passed over Tenten's visage. "Huh?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't like the guy, but he is a shinobi of the leaf. And he is pretty damn good, from what I hear. He just needs to get his head on straight. If you help him, Konoha will have a stronger ninja for it, and you might be able to get through to him. Besides, I'm going to kick his ass anyway. It wasn't right, what he did to Hinata, so I'm going to have to beat him into the ground until he makes it right again. But there's no way I could ever let him advance to fight Shino. Shino would just kill him, especially after somehow going through Gaara and me. Cause I'm still not convinced that there's any way Sasuke is going to be able to beat Gaara."

"Maybe you're right," Tenten agreed after a minute of internal debate. "Besides, if nothing else you can just outlast him. Neji can fight for a pretty long time, but nothing quite like you."

"Good to see you came around to my line of thinking. Since he is your teammate, you should help him in training anyway. And if I'm going to fight him, I want him at his best, not half strength."

Tenten nodded, her resolve restored. She would help Neji finish his move, and watch as Naruto beat the shit out of him. Maybe it would even kick him off the fate track.

Not likely, but maybe.

--

Sakura stood with Kakashi as they waited for Sasuke to finish up what he was doing and join them so Kakashi could escort them out of the Forest. She was teetering back and forth on her heels, looking nervous and apprehensive. "Um, Kakashi-sensei?"

The jounin turned a lazy eye to his female student. "Yes, Sakura?"

"I know I haven't been the most dedicated ninja in the world, but I want to change that," Sakura started, sounding slightly rushed, like she wanted to get it out before she chickened out. "I know I didn't make the finals, but I want you to start training me seriously," she continued, bringing her chin up, "even if I complain. I don't want to be the one holding the team back anymore."

Kakashi didn't say anything for a moment, regarding her with his one eye carefully. "Well, I'm glad you finally owned up to your deficiencies, Sakura," he said eventually. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can do anything about that right now. Sasuke's first match is going to be against Gaara, and you saw his fight. I'm going to need to concentrate on his training if Sasuke's going to beat him. I'm also going to make sure that seal on Sasuke's neck doesn't act up."

Sakura looked down, realizing she was being cast aside. "However," Kakashi continued, "I can give you a few scrolls with more advanced techniques to practice while I'm not around. It will be up to you to make sure you train. And I suppose I can see if anyone would be willing to take you on as a temporary student until after the finals."

Sakura nodded, happy she wouldn't have to be the one dragging her team down anymore. "Wait a second," she said, slight confusion creeping into her voice. "What about Naruto? You said you had to concentrate on Sasuke-kun, but Naruto got into the finals too. Aren't you going to train him too?"

Kakashi pulled out his book, something that Sakura mostly ignored nowadays, after seeing the damn thing so often, no matter how much it pissed her off. "I'm the only one in Konoha who can teach Sasuke how to use his **Sharingan**, so I'm going to have to really focus on him. Naruto will be fine. After all, he's got several other people willing to train him that he lives with. I wouldn't worry about him."

Sakura nodded, content in the knowledge that her instructor knew best.

--

Naruto had been taking a nap when Gai's exclamation woke up him up violently, knocking his pillow to the floor, tangling him in the sheet, and almost making him fall out of the bed.

"My most youthful student! You have awakened!"

"Gai-sensei!" For someone who had just woken up, he was entirely too energetic, Naruto concluded bitterly. "I am sorry I failed in winning my match. I will run five hundred laps around Konoha–"

"No Lee," Gai interrupted. "Do not feel bad about your loss. You merely encountered an opponent whose fires of youth burned brighter than yours. You fought the way I taught you, and everyone saw how brightly your youth shone. Be proud!"

Naruto groaned. He felt there was a compliment somewhere in Gai's comments, but knew he didn't want the strange jounin talking about his 'fires of youth', no matter what it meant. "Naruto-kun, you are awake!" Lee shouted. "Congratulations on defeating me this time, but next time I will win no matter what, eternal rival."

Naruto shook his head. He had just woken up. It was much too early for this. "What are you talking about, 'eternal rival'?"

Lee suddenly switched positions so he was standing on his bed, a broad smile on his face. "Naruto-kun, you are now my eternal rival! I swear I will defeat you and prove my strength," he promised, giving Naruto a thumbs-up.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I collapsed just after they announced my win. If you had a teammate in the shadows, I'd have been done for."

Lee shook his head. "No, I want to be able to defeat you honorably, and on my own. Then I will be satisfied."

Naruto snickered. "Sorry to burst your bubble Lee, but I can't lose to you. I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever, and that means I have to be able to beat anyone in the village. But I'll train with you, if you want."

Lee beamed. "Very well, Naruto-kun. If we train together, we will become stronger, and no one will able to beat us!"

"That's the plan. Maybe after the finals, though. I've got some serious training to do if I'm going to become a chuunin."

Lee nodded sharply. "Who is your first match against?"

"Your teammate, Neji."

"My former rival, I see. I wish you the best of luck against Neji. I have yet to defeat him, but perhaps you can show him a genius of hard work can surpass all other geniuses."

"Hey, you can probably beat him a lot easier now that you can use chakra," Naruto suggested.

A sad look passed over Lee's face. "What are you talking about, eternal rival? I know I can not use chakra, but there is no reason to use such unyouthful tactics."

Gai put an understanding hand on his student's shoulder. "Naruto-kun speaks the truth, Lee. Due to the technique Naruto-kun used to end your match, he fixed your chakra coils. If Tsunade-sama's predictions are correct, you can now use ninjutsu and genjutsu without fail."

"Yosh, Gai-sensei!"

"What are you talking about, Gai, _if_ my predictions are right? I know they are, I looked over the results extensively, and even had a Hyuuga look at the boy's coils. If I'm wrong, I'm not one of the Legendary Sannin."

"But I thought there was no technique to fix my problem?"

Tsunade snorted. "Tell that to the brat over there. He does impossible shit all the time. Besides, Naruto did something no doctor would ever do. Most doctors treat injuries to the chakra system with a feather light touch. Naruto came in and used a hammer, if you get what I'm saying."

Lee looked up, fierce determination on his face. "Yosh! Thank you, Naruto-kun, for you have done something that I have hoped for a long time. You can't understand how much this means to me." Tears were now running down Lee's face in waterfalls, a sight that was slightly disturbing, but Naruto thought it was nice being appreciated.

Lee suddenly turned worried. "Gai-sensei! What about my dream to become a great ninja even without ninjutsu or genjutsu?"

Naruto shrugged. "So what? You're great with taijutsu. Just use that, prove you're strong that way, and if you ever do come across someone you can't beat with just taijutsu, you can have ninjutsu and genjutsu to fall back on, at least so you don't die, you know?"

Lee brightened again. Naruto swore the boy was most bipolar person he had ever met. "Yosh, that is what I will do! I will still become a great ninja through my taijutsu, but now I can have my other skills match!"

"Great, now quiet down, you're disturbing the other patients."

The three males immediately closed their mouths, frightened for what they dangerous kunoichi would do if they went against her.

Tsunade gave them all the evil eye, and turned around to leave. Once she was out of sight, they gave a sigh of relief. Gai turned to his student. "Lee, once you get out of here, we will have to start your training to truly make you the second Green Beast. You can now be the inheritor of the Turtle contract and learn everything I have to teach."

Lee looked up at his teacher with tear-filled eyes, and Naruto looked away just in time to avoid seeing the unbreakable genjutsu. Ten minutes later, Tsunade came back in and knocked the two apart. She forced Lee to go to sleep with a medical jutsu, and Gai stopped by Naruto's bed before leaving.

"Naruto-kun, I have some advice for you." Naruto perked up at that. He was willing to listen to just about any advice, especially if the person was stronger than him. "My student Neji is a strong ninja, but his fires of youth have long since guttered out. It may not be youthful of me to ask this, but please defeat him, and show him that his line of thinking is not the only way. He will become better for it."

Naruto nodded and Gai started to walk off. Before he was out the door, Naruto called him back. "You seemed pretty sure I'm going to win against Neji. I know I'm going to beat him, but why are you so sure he's going to lose?"

Gai smiled. "His fires of youth are nothing compared to yours, Naruto-kun. He would have lost by that merit alone. However, I am completely assured of your victory because of something else. Lee has never beaten Neji, this is true. However, Neji has never faced Lee at full strength, either. They have always fought with Lee wearing his weights and without using the **Hachimon**. You defeated Lee even after that. I have no doubt you will prevail."

Naruto beamed, the knowledge that someone else believed in him filling him with pride.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter. I love getting them, so keep them coming. And you should all thank my beta, Dark Machine, who always makes sure my writing is up to snuff. In related news, I'm not sure how long the next chapter will take, as work will be getting rather hectic in the next few weeks. Touring Europe is fun, but really draining. However, if you were to review, it may inspire me to write more. Not that I'm blackmailing anyone or anything. Cause I wouldn't do that. Really. Read the chapter.  
**

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Naruto trudged down the road on his way to the pond behind the hot springs. Zabuza had finally agreed to teach Naruto the water dragon, after hearing about his fight against Lee. Of course, this was only after some teasing about Naruto and Haku's little head to head, interspersed with some fairly lethal threats if Naruto did anything to hurt Haku.

The pond behind the hot springs was technically a training ground, so it was perfectly legal for Naruto to use it, but most people shied away from using it because it was so close to the hot springs. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of a horde of kunoichi who were pissed because their soak had been interrupted due to a wild jutsu. However, it was fairly hidden from public eye, and Naruto liked his privacy when training. It came from years of hiding his true skills and being able to go off in the woods behind his house and not worry about being seen. Of course, beyond that, it was the closest training ground to the hot springs, almost universally named the best place to relax after a hard day of training.

"Alright, get out here," Zabuza ordered from the center of the pond. Naruto quickly complied, knowing he was going to learn this technique the hard way, the same way he learned the **Suirou no Jutsu**. It was more beneficial in the long run, but definitely harder during the actual training.

"Pay attention, because I'm not going to keep showing you the hand seals if you can't remember them." This was Zabuza's standard practice for training ninjutsu. Forcing him to keep partial concentration on water walking, Naruto got the hand seals once at half speed, and was expected to remember them. If he flubbed the seals, Zabuza would correct him, but not before smacking him in the head. Aversion therapy, he called it, Naruto just knew that it worked. He felt no need to be smacked in the back of the head.

At least it was better than Zabuza's standard practice for training taijutsu. That just consisted of Naruto trying not to die as Zabuza chased him around with a giant sword. Scarily similar to Anko's practice; and Tsunade's.

Naruto needed to find some less violent people to hang out with.

After getting smacked in the head twice, Naruto had the twenty-seven seal string committed to memory. Now he just had to get the seals up to speed with the rest of his other techniques. Of course, the fact that he had just increased his gravity seal to four times normal gravity didn't help this process. He had been careful about his weight training. He had long gotten used to training with weights when he was younger and it was just him and Ibiki, but the gravity seal offered a new aspect you couldn't find in regular weights. Naruto had to constantly put out a slight chakra buffer to keep the increased gravity from crushing him. The man who had done the seal for him had warned him about the dangers of using the seal, but with Kyuubi healing him, he wasn't too worried about lasting damage. That still didn't mean he wanted his internal organs being crushed because he wasn't paying attention to his chakra output. By now, it was a subconscious thing, and when he released the seal, that subconscious action just served to make him that much stronger and faster.

While Naruto was practicing the seals, Zabuza was perched by the waterfall feeding the pond, randomly tossing kunai and senbon at Naruto, as well as keeping an eye out for anyone trying to spy on them. He wasn't too concerned about it, but there was always the possibility, especially in a shinobi village.

This continued for an hour or so, before Naruto felt the seal sequence was up to speed and that he could do it without thinking about it too much. Finally, Naruto started to actually practice the technique.

Zabuza bit back a snort as Naruto's first attempt produced nothing more than a slight shift in the water. It was rather pathetic as far as things went, but Zabuza knew Naruto would have the jutsu down soon enough. The boy was a freaking sponge when it came to learning and adapting. Naruto already knew all of his basic water jutsu, the common ones, anyway. Some Zabuza was keeping to himself, knowing that while Naruto was perfectly capable of learning them, they were Kiri exclusive. The knowledge of some of them had leaked out over the years, but Zabuza wasn't about to simply throw them around. He might not be loyal to his home village anymore, but he wasn't going to betray them like that.

Even though they had only worked together for a few months before Naruto graduated, he had passed on a lot of knowledge. Naruto was already incredibly deadly with the **Kirigakure no Jutsu**, his enhanced senses guiding him through the mist effortlessly. And even though Naruto didn't use it very often, his **Mizu Bunshin** was good enough to fool an experienced chuunin most of the time. Even some rookie jounin would have a time seeing through the technique. And with his chakra supply, Naruto could and would spend entire days working on a jutsu until he was satisfied with it, then do it some more just to be sure. Zabuza could count on one hand the number of times Naruto had called it a day on his own. Most of the time, Naruto had someone else tell him to stop or simply passed out from exhaustion. And though the Demon of the Mist was often referred to as a slave driver, he did leave his students (few they were) conscious at the end of the day.

Zabuza fully expected Naruto to have his new technique up to a combat ready level by the end of the week. Normally a technique like the **Suiryuudan** would take a person close to three or four weeks to get to the point where they could use it in a fight, but Zabuza was glad Naruto wasn't most people. The water dragon wouldn't be much use in the finals, due to the lack of water. Anko had told him that there wouldn't be a body of water in the arena, which Zabuza found a little ridiculous. How did the judges expect any Suiton specialist to use their techniques? If they were true Suiton specialists, they would be able to use their jutsu without a source by the time they were elite jounin, but no genin could be expected to pull the water from the air, not unless they had a bloodline like Haku, and as far as Zabuza knew, she was the last. All the other elements could be used fairly easily. Fire came from the body, as did lightning. As long as someone wasn't in a vacuum, wind was available, and earth was just as abundant. Leaving out water was simply stupid.

Zabuza idly thought that perhaps he was biased because he had a water affinity before swiftly ignoring it.

Naruto started running through the seals again, hoping for more than just a minor shift in the water. He knew it was better than most people would hope for on a first try, but Naruto was impatient. He wanted it to work, and he wanted it to work now. Sadly, since this jutsu had a definite form, it would be all but impossible to finish by simply forcing chakra into it. He had to shape it the right way. Dammit.

Three hours later, Naruto had made it to the point where he could get a significant shift out of the water, but it certainly wasn't anything resembling a dragon, or any serpentine beast for that matter.

"Alright runt, let's go get some lunch. Watching you do this is boring work, and I'm hungry."

Naruto grunted his assent as he finished his last attempt, the water lifting and slamming back down with a wet plop. The duo quickly leapt through the trees, heading for Ichiraku's. Zabuza wasn't the biggest fan of ramen, but it was cheap enough for him to eat his fill without emptying his wallet. Provided he didn't get tricked into paying for Naruto as well, that is.

As they were finishing up, Zabuza with three bowls and Naruto with eleven, Ibiki appeared behind them in a swirl of leaves. They weren't surprised; the characteristic build-up of chakra announced his arrival. That was what made it useless for battle. Anyone with any ability to sense chakra would feel it a mile away. The lack of chakra build-up was what made the **Hiraishin** so deadly.

"Naruto, I've got something to talk to you about."

The blonde looked to Zabuza, not wanting to upset his teacher by just running off. He figured Zabuza wouldn't care, but it wouldn't do to have a man who was a master of a giant sword be pissed at him. "This won't take long. He should be back soon," Ibiki explained. Zabuza shrugged and waved them off before dropping his money on the counter and disappearing in a swirl of water.

Ibiki and Naruto hopped a few rooftops before heading to a secure room that was kept for the Interrogation Squad. No one else under jounin level knew about it, and the only way in was secured with locks that were specifically designed to keep ninja out. Not to mention the walls were covered in seals to keep noise from escaping. In short, it was the perfect place to do a preliminary interrogation without transporting someone back to the main offices.

"You remember that note you put on your test at the end of my exam?" Naruto nodded. "You were right. Kabuto was a spy. Apparently he was working with Orochimaru, and he was found out after Sasuke was injured during his training with Kakashi. Sasuke was unconscious at the time, and Kakashi stepped out to get a bite to eat. When he got back, there was a dead body on the floor and Kabuto was standing over your teammate. Kakashi questioned him, but Kabuto had apparently had enough skill to manipulate the body of the doctor he killed into looking and acting like him while he made his escape."

Naruto nodded gravely, knowing this wasn't time for jokes. Orochimaru wanted Sasuke for something, but he didn't know what. "Um, aniki? I know I was the one to put on this guy's trail, but why are you telling me this? Wouldn't you want to keep this secret? You could have just told me that my information worked out."

Ibiki stared Naruto in the eye. "This isn't something to spread around, you're right. However, I know you, and I'm telling you this so you know that you aren't supposed to go after Kabuto. From the information I got from Kakashi, Kabuto is as powerful as himself, and that means there's no way you're to go near him. Anko and I almost lost you once, and that's not going to happen again just because you ran off to fight someone far out of your league like you did with Orochimaru. Understand?"

"Yes sir," Naruto said with shame in his voice. He hadn't thought about how everyone would feel when he challenged the Snake Sannin, but now that he had seen the reactions, he really didn't want to be reminded of them.

"Good. Now, you probably won't see much of me or Anko until after the finals. She knows more about how Orochimaru thinks, and I'm the best in Konoha at figuring out what people are thinking, so we're going to have to deal with whatever it is Orochimaru is planning. Speaking of the traitor…" Ibiki reached out with one of his huge hands and clubbed Naruto in the side of the head before the blonde could react. "That's for doing something as stupid as fighting him. I couldn't do it before because you hadn't been out of the damn _hospital_ before you got yourself back in there."

"And your couldn't do this last night because you were smashed off your ass from drinking with Ino-chan's dad."

Ibiki glared at Naruto that told the blonde to Shut. Up.

"I just wanted you to know the pertinent information, so you don't go and do something stupid. Alright?"

"I promise I won't do anything too stupid. Okay?"

Ibiki looked over Naruto, weighing the blonde's words, knowing the loophole Naruto just set. Knowing he wouldn't get any better without a long an involved discussion that still wouldn't quite get the result he wanted (the jinchuuriki was a powerful negotiator when pushed), the interrogator nodded. "Stay out of trouble. Just because Anko and I won't be around much, doesn't mean we don't have people watching."

"What makes you think I can't lose them?" Naruto grinned. "I've been losing ANBU since I was eight."

"And yet you can't fool that chuunin Iruka," Ibiki mused. "Watch your back. We don't completely know what Orochimaru is planning, and even if it hadn't involved you before, you probably upset him by living through his assault. He'll probably try to kill you just on principle now."

Naruto nodded and grinned. "He won't catch me by surprise again. I'll keep a better reign on my emotions next time."

A hard look pierced the blonde. "If you had listened to me, you would know there won't be a 'next time'."

Ibiki disappeared in a puff of smoke after stepping outside, the room being sealed against people entering or exiting with **Shunshin**, and Naruto started hopping rooftops.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

The unrevealed Kazama skidded to a stop as an even monotone called out to him. Turning around, Naruto saw Gaara standing there, staring through him. "Yeah? What do you want? I'm on my way to training, and I really can't be late, you know?"

"I have questions for you."

"Can they wait? I mean, I really am in the middle of something."

"No."

Naruto sighed. He had never been good at talking with people like this. A clone was quickly formed, and instructed to go tell Zabuza what was going on. "Alright, what do you want to know? And why ask me? Isn't there someone from Suna you could ask?"

Gaara stared blankly at Naruto. "You are the first person to treat me as a human and mean it. You do not fear me. You will answer my questions."

Naruto sighed. Apparently Gaara's life had been worse than he imagined. Would he have been this way if he hadn't had anyone who cared? "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"Why do you fight for Konoha? You are like me. I have seen the way people glare at you, but you continue to fight for them. I don't understand."

"I fight for the people who hate me because I'm supposed to keep them safe. The Yondaime sealed Kyuubi in me to save the village, so it wouldn't be right for me to try and destroy the people I'm protecting. And if I didn't fight for them I would let my precious people down, and that's something I'll never do. I know you're pretty strong, but if you only ever fight for yourself, you won't become truly strong. Only when you fight to protect someone can you fight to your full potential. See, you're strong, and I'm not actually sure if I could beat you, but if you ever threatened someone precious to me, there's nothing in the world that could stand in my way from destroying you."

"Are you threatening me?" Gaara asked as he narrowed his eyes and began preparing his sand. He had thought Uzumaki would be different, but apparently not.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know you. We're a lot alike, and I'd like to be your friend, but you are from a different village. And because of that, I need to make sure you don't do anything stupid like that. No one messes with my precious people."

Gaara nodded with nothing more than a slight inclination of the head. Uzumaki wasn't really threatening him, but he didn't trust him yet. Admirable. "Is this the only way to become truly strong?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. But everyone I've trained under has believed it, and all of them are pretty different from each other, so it's gotta be true, even if it's not the only way."

"I have no one precious to me." The statement was said with the faintest trace of shame and longing in his voice.

"So, that doesn't mean you can't gain precious people. And I'm not sure if you don't have them already. Your brother and sister are still with you after all."

Gaara paused for a long moment. "Perhaps," he said finally.

"The way I see it, you just have to work at it. If you don't try, there's no way you can get close with anyone. But just because you can't please everyone doesn't mean you should just quit."

Teal eyes with only the barest spark of life bore into Naruto. "I will think about your advice. Should it prove useful, I may have information for you. We will speak again."

Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand, leaving Naruto alone. He rolled his eyes, knowing there had been no need to be so dramatic. Naruto took off towards the training ground where Zabuza was waiting. He stumbled as he touched down on one rooftop because it was that moment his clone was dispelled, letting Naruto know that Zabuza didn't care if Naruto didn't show up, it wasn't he who had to fight in front of more than a thousand people in less than a month. The clone's last memories were of Zabuza punching it in the eye, so Naruto figured that Zabuza was at least mildly peeved that he had been passed up for a genin. Even if that genin had a penchant for crushing people with sand.

Naruto hopped across three rooftops and started through the hot springs as a shortcut. Just as he was about to hit the tree line again, Naruto heard a perverse giggle. Having been trained from an early age by Anko to punish perverts, Naruto flipped back to find the pervert.

It didn't take long. The giggle wasn't loud, but it was enough for Naruto to track with his better than average hearing. He found the source hidden among some bushes with his eye pressed against a small hole in the protective fence. Naruto idly thought that the females would have fixed any and all holes in the fences by now, but discarded the thought as too troublesome. Then he kicked himself for sounding like Shikamaru.

The blonde paused. He knew this pervert. Long white hair, green and red clothes, writing in a notebook. Naruto crept forward, hiding his presence, but knowing his target already knew where he was. He was the foremost information gatherer in Konoha. There was no way Naruto wasn't going to be detected, even though his stealth skills were some of the best among Konoha's genin. But instead of shouting out and getting the pervert beaten, he had a better idea. "Hey, Ero-sennin, you know Tsunade is in town, right?"

--

Jiraiya froze. He had been watching a particularly beautiful brunette when he noticed the person sneaking up on him. Unless they were extremely good at fooling his senses, they were chuunin level overall, at best, nothing for him to really worry about. They felt familiar, as well, but he couldn't place who it was. They were pretty good at concealing their presence as well.

Jiraiya ignored the person getting closer to him, knowing he could disable them once they got in range. Besides, the brunette was one of the best research subjects he had seen in a long time. She was alone, but that was fine, because apparently she didn't mind being alone. Not one bit. She had discarded her towel altogether a minute ago, and was now forgoing modesty completely, as she'd just stopped trying to keep an eye on the door.

Jiraiya had almost completely lost himself in watching the stunning brunette when he had figured out who the person sneaking up on him was. There was only one person who called him 'Ero-sennin', and he hadn't seen the little brat in a few months. But that one sentence had almost stopped his heart. The brunette he had been spying on didn't help his predicament, but the fear of his former teammate made Jiraiya cease his blood flow. Only moments later, he ran like the hounds of hell were on his heels. He could tell the son of his favorite student was right behind him, but didn't care at the moment. He just wanted to make sure Tsunade had no reason to think he had been peeking even though they both knew he had been.

They stopped in a clearing and Jiraiya glared at Naruto. "I told you never to call me that ever again."

The jinchuuriki shrugged carelessly. "And I told you I would as soon as you stop giving me reason to call you that. And if I still call Tsunade 'Baa-chan', what makes you think I'll stop with your nickname?"

"You actually call Tsunade-hime that?" asked Jiraiya disbelievingly. At Naruto's nod, he began muttering about crazy blondes with death wishes and not appreciating their elders appropriately. Naruto simply ignored him until he was done.

"Oi, Naruto, what are you doing? It's not like I don't have better things to do than train you to get your ass beat."

Naruto focused on Zabuza, who was now standing on a nearby branch. He hadn't sensed the Demon approach, but frankly, one of Zabuza's specialties was stealth, so he wasn't that disappointed. Apparently Jiraiya had noticed the jounin, and was now staring at him coldly. "What's a missing-nin like you doing here?"

Zabuza snorted at the coldness in the Toad Sannin's voice. "I'm here because of that brat behind you. He asked me to train him, and then ran off. Can't believe I got such a dumbass runt for a student."

"Hey!" Naruto protested. "You try rejecting a homicidal jinchuuriki who likes crushing people with sand and then come talk to me. And I was on my way to meet back up with you when I ran into Ero-sennin."

"So, what's an A-class Kiri missing-nin doing in Konoha?" Jiraiya asked again.

"Like I said, I'm training the runt. And I'm not just a Kiri missing-nin, I'm now a Konoha jounin." Zabuza tapped his new forehead protector for emphasis. "Runt there got me to join up."

"Hm," Jiraiya grunted, and mentally resolved to grill his old sensei for the real story.

"So you know all three of the Sannin, eh Runt?"

"All three? Since when do you know Orochimaru?"

"Since he decided it would be a good idea to fight the Snake Sannin during the second stage of the exam."

The super pervert rounded on Naruto. "What the hell were you thinking? Orochimaru is way out of your league."

"I know," Naruto grumbled. "And it's not like I thought I could beat him, but he was threatening my team. And he had already taken out Sasuke-teme. Gave him the same seal as Anko-nee-chan."

Jiraiya's face hardened. "Fine, protecting your team was admirable. But if I hear of you doing something like that again, I'll have to institute the 'old punishment'. Got that?"

Naruto shuddered. The 'old punishment' was one that fell out of practice around the time the Sandaime Hokage first assumed office. And while it wasn't used anymore, that didn't mean it wasn't remembered. The old punishment was where a student reported to their sensei, and then did their best to survive without fighting back as they were beaten to within an inch of their life. It was only used when someone truly and well screwed up, causing widespread destruction or complete disregard for orders that ended in tragedy. And Naruto wasn't sure even Kyuubi could keep him alive if Jiraiya was determined.

"**If you did something stupid enough to deserve it, I'd probably help him."**

'_Thanks, fuzzy. That means a lot to me. Really.'_

"I understand. But I wouldn't worry too much. After seeing just how big of a gap there is between us it's not like I'm going chasing after him. I pulled out one of my serious attacks and he sliced me from hip to shoulder less than ten seconds later."

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow. "And what serious attack was this? It's not like you ever told me what you were capable of doing." At Zabuza's confused look, the Sannin elaborated. "Naruto ran across me a couple months ago. He caught me doing research and blackmailed me into tattooing his gravity seal on him after recognizing me from an old picture of his father's. We were only together long enough for me to make sure the seal was working properly, a day, at most. So, I never got to find out what he could actually do."

"Well, I might have been more inclined to tell you something if you weren't such a pervert. And that stupid introduction really hurt your chances too."

"It is not a stupid introduction!" Jiraiya protested, causing Zabuza to stare blankly as the Toad Sannin demonstrated. The Demon of the Mist shook himself.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with Runt on this one. That was a pretty stupid introduction."

Jiraiya glared from his spot on top of his toad. "You two just don't know a good thing when you see it." He grumbled for a bit longer about ungrateful brats, but dismissed the toad nonetheless.

The Toad Sannin was silent for a long moment before speaking again. "I have some things I need to check on. You said the Uchiha received the same seal as Mitarashi? And he lived through it?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I know it was the same one because I've seen nee-chan's enough times, and I got a good close up look of his in the Forest. And after Kakashi-sensei did something to it, he was good enough to get into the finals. Course I'm not sure that he didn't just get an easy opponent, but that's just what I'm thinking. Anyone with decent ranged fighting skills could have won that match no problem. And that guy's taijutsu wasn't all that great either, for all that he used it."

Jiraiya made a noncommittal motion. "I didn't see the fight, so I can't make that call. I'll be around." He disappeared in a puff of smoke as Naruto and Zabuza hopped off through the trees to resume practice.

--

Sarutobi sighed and placed his pen down. "Alright Jiraiya, you can come out now."

The air shimmered as Jiraiya dropped his genjutsu. "You're getting old, sensei, to take that long to find me."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at his former pupil. "I've been old for quite some time. And in terms of ninja, I'm not the only one in the room who's old. Besides, just because I didn't say anything doesn't mean I didn't detect you. I merely waited until I knew what you were doing here."

"Maa, it's your story, tell it any way you want," Jiraiya teased. "I am wondering about a few things though. What's a former Swordsman of the Mist doing in Konoha? I never thought I'd see that."

"He joined our shinobi ranks after being convinced by Naruto-kun. He's not trusted enough not to be watched, but he's proven his worth enough not to be attacked. Leave him alone."

Jiraiya shook his head. "I've given up on my grudge with Kiri. Too troublesome, to borrow the Nara catchphrase. But another thing. What's being done about Orochimaru's latest curse seal victim? The Uchiha?"

Sarutobi extracted his pipe and went through the process of lighting it before answering. Jiraiya knew this meant he wasn't going to like the answer but there wasn't anything he could do about it, so he would have to make do. It also signaled a serious conversation was coming. "Uchiha Sasuke's curse seal was sealed with the **Fuuja Houin** by Kakashi two days after it was given. As long as he doesn't deliberately try to use the power, he will be fine."

"So what are you doing about it? The Uchiha clan has traditionally been nearly obsessed with gaining strength and power, with only a few exceptions, and unless my intelligence is way off base, this Sasuke is even more obsessed than normal, ever since he witnessed the massacre. **Fuuja Houin** will hold off the effects as long as Sasuke doesn't draw on the seal, but what makes you think he won't use it? Right now, I imagine the thought of power just being handed to him is just what he wants, don't you?"

"He is in the finals, and there isn't much I can do to prevent him from participating. I agree with your points, but he is still 'the Last Uchiha', and there would be significant political pressure for him to participate even if he weren't facing the Kazekage's youngest son. As it is, there is no chance that I can force him to withdraw without losing a great deal of clout."

Jiraiya grunted. "I've waiting for the day the council realizes the people they treat like pawns could kill them all before they knew the first hit the floor."

Sarutobi smiled internally but didn't let it show. Even though they couldn't reach here, the council did have their spies. "But until that day, we have to listen to them. Just because I can override them doesn't mean it is easy to do so. In the meantime, Sasuke-kun is being trained by Kakashi. He's the only one who can teach the boy on how to better his use of his bloodline, and is experienced enough to keep an eye on Orochimaru's seal. And as the one who applied the restrictor seal, it makes sense that he be the one who trains the boy."

Jiraiya acknowledged the point and moved on. He realized he wasn't going to get anywhere on this. "I heard my old teammate is back in Konoha. Both of them in fact. Were we having a reunion and you decided to leave me out?"

"Who'd you find out Tsunade was back from?" Sarutobi asked. They weren't exactly hiding the fact that the Slug Princess was back, but they certainly weren't proclaiming the fact either. Orochimaru was obvious; he was the only one who could have applied the curse seal.

"You know I have the best information network around, sensei. However, this one I found out when I got in the village. Ran across someone I hadn't been planning on seeing again so soon. Uzumaki Naruto."

"You already knew the boy?" Sarutobi asked. He hadn't been expecting this. "I know you knew who he was, but I was under the impression you hadn't seen him since he was born."

Jiraiya turned a critical eye to his former teacher. "Who do you think tattooed the gravity seal on him? Especially since he doesn't have any training in sealing. It's not something you just do. You need real instruction to get to the proficiency altering a seal like that takes. Not that he couldn't do it given time, but he's not even at the point to be thinking about it yet."

"I see. I had expected that someone else had done the seal, but didn't really think it had been you," Sarutobi mused. "Not that you couldn't have done it, but I would have expected Naruto-kun to have said something if he had run across his father's old sensei. I suppose it's partially my fault for not asking, but I will have to have a talk with him about giving a proper debriefing."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I still don't know all of what he did on that damn training trip he took after the incident that forced him to leave. Usually, the only way I can get him to answer something is if I ask him flat out. Not to mention he can turn a conversation away from himself just like Arashi could. You have no idea how infuriating it can be trying to get information from him. It doesn't help that Ibiki has taught him how to refine it to answer a question without telling you what you want to know."

"Hmm, I think I may have just been a victim of that myself. I just realized he never told me what technique he used against Orochimaru," Jiraiya frowned. Sarutobi just smirked, happy he wasn't the only one it happened to.

"Well, I'll leave finding that out to you. No need to spoil your fun." Sarutobi chuckled at the petulant glare his former student sent at him. He changed the topic quickly anyway. "I don't suppose you know why Tsunade came back, hmm?"

Jiraiya just looked at the elderly Hokage, silently telling him to continue. "It wasn't anything I did, if that's what you're wondering. As a matter of fact, it was because of Naruto that she even contemplated coming back."

"I'm not sure how much I believe that. Tsunade was adamant about never returning here when she made that vow. It's been a while since I checked in on her, but frankly, I don't know what the kid could have done to get her back here."

Sarutobi smiled knowingly. "Well, I surmise that it's a number of things. You've no doubt noticed who he looks like, and his dream is the same as Nawaki's. He also seems to have the ability to get people to change their how they think about things just from being around them, not a skill that should be neglected at all. He's even gotten her to stop degrading the Hokage title whenever it comes up."

"So what was the thing that got her to come back? I don't see that bringing her back."

"She lost a bet to him."

Jiraiya stared dumbly for a second before keeling over with laughter. "That's got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard. Trust Tsunade-hime to bet away her exile."

"That's not all." Jiraiya looked up. "Apparently, that wasn't the original challenge. You probably don't know this, but Naruto-kun is about as lucky as Tsunade is unlucky. There was a series of bets leading up to Naruto's getting her to come back to Konoha. Not the least of which was giving up her grandfather's necklace. Naruto's been wearing it for a long time now, and Tsunade's fairly well convinced he's broken the curse on it. Or at least she was until he was attacked by Orochimaru."

"I wonder where she is now? I suppose I should start scouring the bars to find her." Jiraiya prepared to jump out the window, but Sarutobi's voice stopped him.

"No, actually, you'll have better luck at the hospital. One of the wagers Naruto won has Tsunade working at the hospital, doing a major overhaul on how it works. I think it came about from the lack of fair treatment Naruto was able to receive as a child more than a concern to better Konoha, but it certainly has had that effect."

Jiraiya disappeared, shaking his head at the changes Naruto had wrought in his teammate. What was next, Orochimaru turning good?

--

"Hello there, hime."

Tsunade refrained from jumping as Jiraiya spoke up from behind her; it was what he wanted. She had stopped a long time ago.

"What do you want, pervert?"

"Can't I just come by and see my favorite ex-teammate? Just to catch up on old times?"

Tsunade sighed. "It's never been like that. If we're going to be in the same spot for a while, you might do that, but never on the first visit. So what are you here for?"

"You're right, I do have something I want to talk to you about. Naruto."

"Why would you want to talk about a fishcake?"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Don't play dumb, hime, you're too smart for it. I hear he's the reason you came back?"

"Yes, and if you don't want to become the next decoration on the monument, you'll drop this."

"I just was wondering what happened to make you stay with him. Everyone knows you could have left by now."

"Technically, I couldn't. Sensei told you what happened?"

"He told me you lost a bunch of bets. That's never stopped you from running from debtors before."

Tsunade's glare hardened. "I may not always make them on time, but I always pay my debts. This is no different. One of bets I made gets him training from me until he makes chuunin. Frankly, that probably won't be much longer, if he makes a good showing in the finals."

Jiraiya was much more interested now, but it only showed slightly. "What have you been teaching him?"

Tsunade waved her hand. "Not much formally. Mostly chakra control and anatomy, but he'll never be a medic. Even if he had the ability, which he doesn't, he doesn't have the right attitude. Other than that, I've really just trained him on fighting a superior opponent. He's gotten a lot better at thinking tactically instead of just charging in. Still does it from time to time, but since he can survive it a lot better than anyone else, there's not much I can do to train him out of it."

"That's probably a good thing," Jiraiya thought out loud.

"What's that?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just good to hear he's getting any arrogance pounded out of him," the toad summoner explained, discretely flashing their genin team's old sign for 'Later, not here'.

"He's really not that bad. He might think highly of his skills, but he's usually able to back his talk up. And when he can't, he still doesn't give up. Kind of annoying if you're fighting him."

Jiraiya snickered. "I'll keep that in mind. So what are your plans once your debts aren't keeping you here?"

Tsunade took a moment before answering. "Once he makes chuunin, I don't have to stay here any longer, so I suppose I'll leave again. It's not like there's anything keeping me here."

Jiraiya nodded, knowing now was not the time for such a discussion. "How much time do you spend training Naruto? You're here, and I ran into him training with someone I never expected to be in Konoha, Momochi Zabuza."

Tsunade snorted. "If I wasn't there when you gave up your grudge against Kiri, I'd almost think you were going to go after him. He's actually okay, for who he is. I've taken on training his former apprentice. She's talented."

Jiraiya's eyebrows shot up. Tsunade didn't praise someone like that lightly. "So, you don't have much time to train him anymore?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him. "No, but he understands. My style isn't that suited for him anyway. Why?"

"Let me take over his training. I owe it to him, and you won't have to worry about anymore. I think he'd be pretty receptive to the idea."

"What makes you think that?"

"Who wouldn't want to be trained by the man who trained the Yondaime Hokage, the man said to be the strongest ninja in the world?"

Tsunade bit back a laugh at Jiraiya's antics, but knew it was true. Jiraiya had trained one of the most powerful nin ever, and it would free her up significantly. She might even have time to hit the gambling parlors like she used to. "Fine. But only if you're planning on actually teaching the boy something. I don't want him dying on a mission just because you neglected him to go peep. Got it?" she growled, staring the man square in the eye.

"Yes ma'am," he answered quickly, fearing for his manhood.

"Good. Now get out of here before your perverted nature takes over." Jiraiya disappeared in a puff of smoke and Tsunade went back to supervising Haku as she healed her latest patient.

--

It wasn't until two days later that Jiraiya got to meet up with Naruto again. He and Zabuza were training at the same area once again, as Naruto practiced the **Suiryuudan** and Zabuza took potshots with kunai and senbon.

Naruto was doing well with the technique, even though technically it should have been far beyond his ability. Jiraiya snorted. Arashi had always done things far beyond his ability as well. He had stopped judged people by what they should be able to accomplish and started judging them on what they actually pulled off a long time ago. The dragon had actual form now, and Naruto was able to direct it to crash into something, but it wasn't very fast, and once it was set into motion, he couldn't alter its course. Still, for three days of effort, it was incredible progress. It would be good enough for battle soon enough.

"Can I help you?"

Jiraiya looked over his shoulder and saw Zabuza standing there. Must have been a **Mizu Bunshin** up on the cliff. He had given his position away, but since he wasn't really trying to stay hidden, he didn't much care. He was here to talk with them anyway.

"I need to talk with Naruto about his training."

Zabuza stared at the Sannin for a moment, knowing he would lose in a fight, but wanting to judge his truthfulness anyway. "Fine, if the runt'll talk with you, go right ahead."

"Naruto! I need to talk with you." The blonde twisted around with a confused expression on his face, wondering who was calling him.

"Ero-sennin? What are you doing here?"

The Sannin blurred over to Naruto and smacked him on the head. "Don't call me that. We need to discuss your training."

"What do we need to talk about? Zabuza is a great teacher, and Baa-chan is just as good when she can get away from the hospital. Shizune-nee-chan helps too."

"That's well and good, but since Tsunade is busy with the hospital, we've made a deal. I'll train you in her place, and she'll help you when she gets a chance. You get more training, and she gets to focus on her work. Everyone benefits."

Naruto thought it over for a few minutes, indicating that he had understood, and tried the **Suiryuudan** a few more times. He always did his best thinking while training anyway. "Why do you want to train me?" he finally asked, thankful that Zabuza hadn't interrupted them, just kept an eye out for eavesdroppers.

Jiraiya glanced over at the former Kiri jounin, and Naruto flashed him the standard sign for 'talk freely'. "I owe it to your father. And to you, really." Naruto motioned for him to go on, and Jiraiya continued. "You know I trained your father. Since he's not here to train you, I feel I should in his place. Also, I should have never left you here with those damn bigoted people. I thought sensei would have been able to do a better job of protecting you, but you've turned out all right. I know it was selfish, but I had just lost the closest thing I ever had to a son, and I didn't want anything reminding me of that loss. I know you aren't the demon, but you reminded me of what I had lost."

Naruto was silent, then looked Jiraiya square in the eye. "I understand. I've understood for a long time. I don't blame the villagers for what they did. I don't like it, and I don't think it's right, but I don't blame them. I remind them of the complete destruction the Kyuubi could have caused, and the vast destruction it did cause. We're still building up our forces from that day. So don't worry about what you owe me. You're just human after all. But if you think you should train me, let's get started. I'm good for it."

"What about the **Suiryuudan**?" Zabuza asked. "You don't have it done, and I never said you could stop training with me."

Naruto grinned. The two experienced nin could feel a mass of chakra being molded, and Naruto quickly called out the name of his favorite technique. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" A single clone popped into existence, and the original turned to him. "You should have enough chakra to practice for a good long time. Just don't destroy yourself." Naruto looked over at the bandaged nin. "Don't throw a bunch of kunai at him like you do me. It won't end up helping my reflexes at all, and if you do end up hitting him, I'll have to make another one."

"If you know about the information transfer of **Kage Bunshin**, why don't you use it to train?" Jiraiya questioned. "It would be a great way to get stronger quickly."

Naruto shrugged as Zabuza turned an ear to hear the answer while keeping his attention focused on the clone. "Feels a little like cheating, kinda. No one else can do it, and anyone can get stronger if they're able to fit a year of training in a day. I want to prove I'm the strongest on my own. I'll use it if I need to, but it doesn't feel right. Besides, there's always a chance something will go wrong and I'll mess myself up if I do that. I did actually try making tons of clones to learn faster when I first learned it, but after the first week, I decided not to do it anymore. I was going to use my clones to read a bunch of books at once, so I didn't have to deal with it, but after I did, I dispersed them and the information overload knocked me unconscious for almost a week. If I ever need to get tons stronger really quick, I'll use it, but other than that, I'll train normally. I'd rather not risk a stroke."

Neither Jiraiya nor Zabuza decided to mention that training jounin level jutsu as a genin wasn't normal training, and just let the comment slide.

"Fine, whatever, pass up a great training strategy. The first thing I'm planning on teaching you is the **Kuchiyose no Jutsu**."

Jiraiya took a deep breath to explain how the technique worked, but was sent sputtering by four words. "I already know **Kuchiyose**."

"What? How do you know how to summon? There's not that many people in Konoha who have contracts, and several of them wouldn't pass them on. Sensei's got the monkey contract, but that's pretty much Sarutobi clan exclusive." It seemed Jiraiya was talking to himself at this point. "Gai has the turtle contract, but frankly, you're not one of his students, so that wouldn't make sense. Kakashi has the dog contract, but he's not the type to pass that on lightly. Anko isn't allowed to add new summoners, and Tsunade never mentioned letting you sign the slug contract, so what the hell can you summon?"

Even knowing there wasn't anyone around, Naruto glanced about. "Foxes."

Jiraiya's gaze suddenly grew heavier. "Is the seal weakening? How long have you been in contact with the Kyuubi?"

Naruto waved his hands frantically to slow down Jiraiya before he freaked out more. "The seal is fine, for what it is. What do you know about it?"

"I know you were attacked by a member of Akatsuki a little over eight months ago, and when I came back to talk with sensei, he told me something went wrong with the seal, but that it was fine now. I had figured as much, as I felt the chakra wave from whatever it was you did. Frankly, I doubt anyone in Fire Country didn't. But I never found out what exactly it was from, so what happened then?"

"First off, I've been in contact with the Kyuubi since I was seven. Don't worry, there's not really any danger of him breaking free. And I couldn't summon foxes until after that chakra wave you felt. The woman who messed up my seal ended up doing something that made it so it was killing me and Kyuubi, and since neither of us wanted to die, we ended up having to do a ritual that fused us, for lack of a better word. I'll show you what that really means later on, when there's less of a chance we'll be interrupted, cause it would be kind of bad if we were. Just trust me that it doesn't mean anything bad, because otherwise the old man would never let me stay here. And Baa-chan knows about it to, and you know you can trust her."

Jiraiya studied Naruto, and the blonde fought the urge to fidget. "We will continue this later. Trust me on that. So you know how to summon foxes? Well, I can't really help you with creating techniques to use with it, as I summon toads, so I'll have to figure out something else."

"**Kit, ask the pervert to summon the toad boss. I need to speak with him. We've never had the chance to set the record straight after I was sealed, and I can't imagine Gamabunta sought out to fix relations between our two groups."**

Naruto didn't know where this was going, but asked Jiraiya to do so anyway. The Toad Sannin wasn't convinced it was a good idea to summon the toad boss simply because he was asked to, but Naruto eventually convinced him to do so.

"**Jiraiya! Why have you summoned me? There's no battle here. You idiot, what have I said about summoning me without a reason?"**

"Actually, I do have a reason. I don't know how good it is, but I do have one," he muttered to himself, hoping he wouldn't get sat on because of this.

"**Kuchiyose: Kyuubi no Kitsune**!"

Jiraiya was surprised by the fact that there was only a man-sized cloud of smoke, rather than the giant explosion that accompanied the most powerful summons. He was even more surprised by the fact that what looked like a human stepped out. He spared a glance at Naruto and was even more surprised by the unconscious and decidedly not human form where his new student was. As the practicing clone disappeared due to the instability in Naruto's chakra system, Zabuza hastily constructed a genjutsu and through it over Naruto, prompting Jiraiya to forestall his questions and do the same thing.

"Hello Gamabunta. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Kyuubi greeted amiably, or at least as amiably as the demon fox could.

The toad boss narrowed his eyes at the demon in human form. **"Kyuubi,"** he greeted shortly. **"What are you doing here? Come to finish what you started those years ago? You won't find me such an easy mark as you may think."**

"Of course not," Kyuubi replied indignantly. "I was just doing my job back then. I would have left Konoha alone had they not attacked me first and turned over Orochimaru. It's not my fault things went the way they did. I was attacked before I was even able to make a request that they turn Orochimaru over to me so I could eat him."

"**Not that I don't appreciate the idea of eating that teme, but it doesn't reassure me that this isn't a trick."**

"I give you my pledge that I am only intending to negotiate peace between the toads and kitsune clans. Good enough?"

Gamabunta eyed the demon carefully. **"For now. What do you offer?"**

Jiraiya finally shook off the shock of seeing the toad boss and the most powerful kitsune talking like old friends, and interrupted. Probably not the best idea, but he did it anyway. "Wait a second! What's going on? And why didn't I know about any of this stuff before?"

Gamabunta turned his eye to look at his summoner. **"You didn't need to know. This is something that doesn't really concern humans."**

Kyuubi waved his hand back and forth, telling Gamabunta to relax. "The foxes and toads have been allies for a long time, ever since the toads moved to Mt. Myouboku, before the first ninja countries formed. We already lived in what is now Fire Country, and as neither group wanted war, we became allies. That status broke when Gamabunta and I fought. Now that we can talk face to face, we intend to fix our relations. There's no need to break an alliance hundreds of years old over what was basically a misunderstanding." Kyuubi turned back to his old friend. "Why don't you slip into something more appropriate for where we are? We don't need anyone showing up thinking there's a fight to be had."

Gamabunta gave a deep rumbling sigh, and the great toad's form blurred violently for thirty seconds before shrinking and coalescing in the form of a man, one dressed impressively, but not regally as Kyuubi was. He was not as lithe as the demon, but certainly no one would doubt the man's ability to take care of himself. There were a few hints at thinning hair on his head, but if you weren't paying attention to them, you wouldn't see them. Two daggers sat on either side of his waist, a scar decorated his left eye, and a worn pipe was set firmly in his jaw.

Jiraiya stared in amazement as Gamabunta demonstrated a skill he had no idea he ever possessed before. "Wha…?"

"I knew this wasn't such a good idea, Kyuubi," Gamabunta said, puffing his pipe solemnly. "I'm going to have to throw Jiraiya across the damn country to get him to leave me alone about this."

"Why didn't you tell me you could do this?" Jiraiya demanded as he regained his voice. "You always said you couldn't do ninja techniques."

The glare the summon sent him reminded Jiraiya that just because the form was different, it was still the enormous toad boss he was talking back to. "I never told you because there's no use for this in battle. I can't assume any form except this one, and as you saw, it doesn't go particularly fast."

Kyuubi took over the explanation. "About three hundred years ago, the alliance between the toads and foxes became strained. In order to relieve tension, I taught the toad boss of the time how to do one of the kitsune's unique skills, though only a basic version. Since then, the toad boss has had the ability to shape shift into a human form. As per the agreement, only the boss was permitted to know the skill, but it did fix relations between our clans at the time."

Jiraiya shook his head at the explanation. "I thought that since it was unique to kitsune, they were the only ones who could use it?"

Gamabunta shook his head. "Any creature with youki can use it, if trained properly." Kyuubi nodded at that. It wasn't necessarily the truth, but it was close enough. Any creature with youki could do the basic version the toad boss used, but you had to be a kitsune to be able to master it. It was also what Naruto used to hide his hanyou form. Kyuubi had just explained it to the blonde as an illusion because it was easier and at the time, hadn't wanted to deal with meting out details. "It's no different than your ninja clans' techniques," Gamabunta continued. "Just because none outside the clan know how to perform the jutsu doesn't mean they can't learn them. They just aren't let out to be learned, to give them an advantage."

Jiraiya nodded, comprehending now. "So what are you going to do to confirm the alliance now?" he asked, curious and unable to stop himself.

Kyuubi locked eyes with Gamabunta and smirked. "Well, I figured we could go out for a long night of drinking on me, and if we needed to resolve anything after that, we could go from there."

The transformed toad nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"That's it?" Jiraiya questioned. "No long talks or discussions?"

Kyuubi shook his head condescendingly. "Humans feel the need to draw things out and overcomplicate everything. We demons have a much better grasp of how to work things out. If something can't be resolved, we will fight until one side concedes. If things can be resolved, we will say what needs to be said without the niceties. We are smart enough to know true feelings and motivations. Also, we have found that if things can't be worked out in a bar, they won't be able to be worked out in a stuffy room any better."

One thing from the lecture stuck out to the Sannin. "Demons? The toads aren't demons."

Gamabunta snorted. "No normal animal would be able to speak a human tongue, Jiraiya. We are demons, but humans haven't acknowledged the fact that we are for a long time because it makes them feel safer. Demons are not the evil creatures humans portray them to be, don't believe they are. And you don't see most summons as demons because most contracts have been long established and we don't treat humans the way you would expect a demon to act. We've dealt with humans long enough to determine that they aren't like some of the old prejudices would have us believe. Of course, some of the newer contracts still retain their old feelings. Look at the snakes and specifically Manda. He acts as he does not just because he is an arrogant bastard, but because he still sees humans as far below him."

Jiraiya nodded, and off to the side, Zabuza decided he needed to talk with the sea serpents about this. It wouldn't do to have information available to him and not try to get it.

"So, I have eighteen hours on the outside before I need to go back and prevent Naruto from dying. Let's go hit the bars."

Gamabunta nodded, and the two powerful creatures walked off, leaving two dumbfounded humans and an unconscious jinchuuriki in their wake.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for sticking with me after so long. Thanks as always to my beta, he does great work. Hope you enjoy the new chapter, and please remember to review, only if a few words.**

* * *

As per the agreement reached between Kyuubi and Gamabunta over their fifteenth glass of sake, Naruto would be permitted to sign the toad contract on the condition that he summon Gamabunta and Kyuubi both to the same spot once a month. This was officially so the two demons could talk things over and make sure no problems arose from their arrangement. Naruto was fairly certain it was so they could go out drinking together without anyone scolding them for being irresponsible. But if it got him a contract he could use in front of anyone without them freaking out, he was all for it.

It didn't hurt that the toads were considered one of the most powerful summons. It wasn't necessarily true, but the toads had been permitting their services to be used by humans for a long time and had been seen on the battlefields of the Elemental Countries greatest wars since before the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage's were even born. It was impossible for them not to cultivate a good reputation. In truth, there were more than a few contracts that were stronger than the toads. The fox contract was one, and the snake contract was another. Tigers and dragons were also counted among that group, but neither of those had very many summons that were good for much outside of battle.

But this was the reason Naruto could now be found in a remote training ground trying to summon all toads on the contract, because Gamabunta had tasked the blonde with knowing all the toads before he was permitted to summon them for battle. Jiraiya was watching from a distance as Naruto made his way through the middle ranks of the toads, cursing the fact that Gamabunta had forbidden him from running off to peep. Even as strong as he was, the Sannin didn't dare cross the boss toad.

--

Gaara stared into the sky, the full moon shining brightly. He used to be the most uncontrollable on the full moon, but now, even staring directly at it, he was in full control of himself. He was aware of the meeting going on behind him, but he didn't care. There were better things to concentrate on. Like whether or not that person in the shadows was an assassin after him or spying on the meeting.

He decided there was no harm in waiting them out.

Two minutes later the meeting was done, and Gaara was almost eager to have them leave. He was perfectly content to be alone until he figured out exactly what Uzumaki meant by his advice, and people meeting around him made that difficult.

Before Gaara could sink deeper into his thoughts, sounds of a fight reached his ears. Knowing who had just been at the meeting, Gaara moved to a spot where he could watch. Baki and the sickly jounin from the preliminaries were engaging in a sword fight, the Konoha nin with an elegant blade, and Baki with his wind chakra created sword. The examiner had drawn first blood, but Gaara's sensei had almost eviscerated Hayate with his last strike, with Hayate barely able to keep it from becoming instantly lethal.

A flicker of movement caught Gaara's eye as Baki moved in for a finishing blow, and the Suna jounin was suddenly encapsulated in a cocoon of sand, protecting him from the giant sword that was about to decapitate him.

Hayate and Zabuza were definitely surprised by the unexpected arrival, as both of them had been too intent on their fight with Baki to notice Gaara. Gaara commanded the sand to bring Baki and his cocoon over to him. "Attacking Baki now would be a breech of the Good Faith Agreement laid down so that no foreign nin would be attacked while in another Hidden Village during the Chuunin Exams. Should you attempt to continue, I will have to retaliate."

Gaara may have been a murderous psychopath, but he was still the son of the Kazekage, and he had received advanced tutoring from an early age, mainly so he wouldn't cause a political situation to go FUBAR.

"That same agreement also states that any foreign nin forfeits that right if they are trying to sabotage the host village," Hayate countered.

"That is why I do not attack you now. You will leave Baki alone, and I will not crush you."

"He's plotting to attack Konoha," Zabuza protested. "We can't let that happen. Just because I'm new to the village doesn't mean I'll let something happen to it."

"He and my team will not participate in the assault," Gaara assured them, though it didn't sound heartfelt (granted, _nothing_ Gaara said sounded heartfelt). "He is technically my sensei, and has treated me neutrally over the years. I will not let him be harmed should I be able to prevent it," Gaara reasoned, mostly to himself.

Zabuza and Hayate reluctantly hopped away, only after Hayate reminded Zabuza that Gaara was the son of the current Kazekage and to kill him would mean horrible things for Konoha and Suna's already struggling alliance. They needed to get the information to the Sandaime anyway.

Gaara manipulated the sand to show Baki's face and to let him hear, but kept him wrapped up. "What are you doing?" Baki half-demanded, more than upset at the situation.

"I saved your life from the man who was about to cut off your head from behind. I also gave them my word we would not participate in the invasion."

Baki's face turned furious. "What are you thinking? You are the son of Kazekage-sama, but you don't speak for everyone," he said urgently. "There's no way Suna could back out of their alliance with Oto now even if we wanted to!"

The sand crept up to cover Baki's mouth and prevent him from speaking. "I said nothing about Suna not attacking. Merely you. Temari and Kankuro will stand down with me as well. The rest of the village may attack. You three have treated me as though I were human over the years. It would not be right of me to let you die. The rest of the village has treated me as a demon. They will die if they truly wish to attack."

Baki struggled in his bonds and Gaara pulled the sand down. "Why do you think the attack will fail? Do you really think your own village is that weak?"

"No. But they no longer have Shukaku to depend on. Konoha still has their jinchuuriki. He would have defeated me if we had fought. Konoha also has the advantage of knowing the area, and now has foreknowledge of the attack. Suna and Oto will fail." Baki sagged. He knew Gaara had a point. A point that was only made worse as it was delivered in a dry, methodical monotone. It was nice to know that Gaara didn't want him to die, but he also didn't want to see Suna fall. And if they didn't have Gaara's help during the invasion, it probably would fail. But Gaara was saying it would have failed even with his help. That Konoha's weapon would be able to beat him. And as Baki couldn't remember Gaara ever saying that someone could defeat him, he was more than slightly inclined to believe his words, psycho or not.

"Fine. I have to inform Kazekage-sama that Konoha now knows of our intentions."

Gaara stared hard at his sensei. "You will not tell him that my siblings and I will abstain from the fighting."

"You would let him believe he has the power of Shukaku when he doesn't?"

Baki gulped as he was pinned by the force of Gaara's glare. "He has not had the 'power of Shukaku' since he first tried to kill me. He has abandoned me. Now I abandon him."

Gaara turned to walk away, the sand cocoon loosening from around Baki and trailing after Gaara. "And Baki? Shukaku no longer holds any control over me. My power is mine alone. Do not intimate that it is anyone else's."

Gaara disappeared, content in the knowledge that he got his point across. Now he had to find Uzumaki and inform him that he was coming to understand the advice.

Perhaps after a night of sleep, though. Sleep really wasn't appreciated enough by the masses.

--

At training ground seven, the same one they had taken Kakashi's bell test, Sakura bent over the scroll she had taken from the Konoha archives, she had finished with Kakashi's scroll the day before. It had contained some basic but hard to break genjutsu, but the scroll from the archives contained some much more interesting and unusual. They were easier to break than the genjutsu Kakashi gave her, but they were designed to be much more distracting and disorienting, something that fit in with her fighting style. Wait until her opponent dropped his guard before going in for her attack and then getting back out again.

However, Sakura was so absorbed in her studying that she didn't notice the person watching her.

--

Uzuki Yuugao sat in a nearby tree, watching Sakura work. She had been there since before the pink-haired kunoichi arrived, thinking on the changes that had just occurred in her life. She was one of the ANBU of Konoha; at least she was until her last mission. Now she was just another jounin. It had been a regular assassination that had gone terribly wrong.

Her four-man squad was usually more than enough to deal with anything they came across, with a near perfect record. Of course, no ANBU's record was perfect, but her team's had been close. However, what had been a fairly routine A-ranked assassination turned horribly wrong when her team found out that their target had apparently gotten wind of Konoha's movements against them and hired bodyguards. Normally, bodyguards meant nothing to a well-trained ANBU. However, while their target was the kind of person whose personal preferences would have made even the most hardened shinobi ill, he was also rich enough to hire someone who would be able to guard him well.

Kumo's legendary shinobi, The Lightning Dragon.

All of the great shinobi nations had ninja who were the most famous and powerful, ones who were capable of staring down full ANBU platoons without flinching. The Lightning Dragon was Kumo's.

The Lightning Dragon was most famous for his time during the Third Great Shinobi War. Kiri's forces had heard of a remote pass that would grant them access to Kumo. The Lightning Dragon defended the pass entirely on his own while the rest of Kumo's forces dealt with the distraction Kiri had sent. Before Kiri finally retreated, the Lightning Dragon had claimed the lives of more than one hundred and eighty of Kiri's shinobi.

One of the few survivors from that battle (a battle that had fewer survivors than the distraction, which was reportedly supposed to be a suicide mission), said that the Lightning Dragon had been meditating at the mouth of the pass when they arrived, before opening his eyes just soon enough to catch the kunai that had been flung at his head. He calmly stated that he would give them one chance to leave, and when the Kiri forces refused, the slaughter started. The Lightning Dragon had devastated them that day, and when only twelve survivors were left, he told them to leave, and never to bother them again. Once they returned to Kiri, the survivors requested a transfer to another front, one that would be less likely to get them killed, like the gates of Hell.

The Lightning Dragon is also famous for the fact that no one outside of Kumo knows his real name, and the fact that he _isn't_ the Raikage. He's more than strong enough; he simply doesn't want the job. His only recorded defeat was at the hands of the Sannin, who reported that it took all three of them to beat him.

Yuugao's squad knew they didn't have a shot against him, and started to retreat and regroup to come up with another plan of attack, but by then, it was already too late. The Dragon had noticed them. Her squad ran, foregoing stealth for speed, hoping to just put distance between them and their pursuer, but Yuugao's three comrades quickly fell. Yuugao herself was badly injured before she could trap the Lightning Dragon in her most powerful genjutsu. It was a tri-layered looping illusion, that would use the victim's own chakra to restart itself. To break it, the victim had to completely suppress their chakra flow for over a minute to make sure it wouldn't restart. It would have been a good chance for Yuugao to kill Kumo's most powerful shinobi, but the chakra cost to apply the genjutsu was fairly severe, and she had already winded herself trying to get away from him. She wasn't about to take the chance that the Lightning Dragon could have fought against it. It wasn't like the genjutsu prevented the victim from moving. There was no doubt that he was stronger than her while disabled, even if she had been at full strength. So she ran.

She had made it back to Konoha a day later, utterly exhausted and low on blood. She had taken two blood pills already, and that was the maximum dosage any medic-nin would allow someone to have. Any more and the enzymes used to stimulate blood production would start to do more harm than good. The medic patched her up, a new person she hadn't seen before, but apparently was pretty good because she was being advised over by Tsunade. After discharge, she found out that her fiancé, Hayate, was being admitted to the hospital with wounds even worse than hers. He wouldn't tell her the name of the person who did it to him, not that she could avenge his wounds at the moment anyway. She hated to think what she would have done if Hayate hadn't survived. She had been thinking about retirement from ANBU for a while now, and this situation gave her a great excuse to do so. But if Hayate hadn't lived, she wouldn't have had a reason to quit, and probably would have stayed in for a lot longer.

But now she was out of ANBU, and a normal jounin. Most people wouldn't think that to be a big change, but there was a difference. For one, a jounin got paid slightly more than an ANBU. Not much, but it was enough. With Hayate out of duty for the next six months, that little bit would definitely help. Secondly, a jounin was less likely to receive suicide missions. Even with just those two arguments, there was no logical reason to be an ANBU, but no one ever said that shinobi were quite sane.

If she and Hayate wanted a place to live together, she would have to be able to make more money than she was now. She had been contemplating becoming a jounin instructor, as they got paid for an ongoing B-rank due to dealing with a genin team. The only problem with that would be dealing with a bunch of fresh genin. She didn't think she had the temperament for that. In truth, not that many jounin did. Most were too jaded by the life by the time they were experienced enough to take a team.

But as she watched the Haruno, Yuugao had another idea. Jounin who took on an apprentice weren't paid quite as much as one with a genin team, but they did get more than usual. Not to mention she wouldn't be out of Konoha as much as she would be if she were just taking regular jounin missions, which meant more time with Hayate and more time not dying. Yuugao was a big fan of not dying.

She had even spied the title of the scroll the Haruno was studying. It was genjutsu, not particularly difficult, but more than enough for a genin almost straight out of the academy. Making a decision, Yuugao hopped out of the tree, not caring that she was about to steal one of Hatake Kakashi's students out from under him. He never should have played that prank on her back when she was a rookie.

Sakura had turned her head to look at who was approaching, Yuugao having made no attempt at hiding her presence, in fact making a deliberate noise to see if she would be heard. "Who are you?" Sakura asked, wary, but not hostile. The Konoha headband was displayed, after all.

"How's your chakra control?" Yuugao asked, disregarding the question.

"Not bad," Sakura answered, truthfully, but not giving away how good it was. If hiding your true strength worked for Naruto, she could make it work for her too. "Who are you?"

Yuugao ignored the question again. "You'll never get that one without good chakra control," she said instead, pointing to one Sakura hadn't reached yet. "It's pretty finicky, but worth it if you get it to work consistently."

"Thanks for the advice," Sakura said hesitantly. "Who are you?" she asked once more, her voice firm now.

Yuugao smirked. At least the girl wasn't blindly trusting her just because she was from Konoha. "Try it on me."

"What?" Sakura questioned, confused by the order.

"I want to see if you're any good at it, and the only real way to learn genjutsu is to do it on someone. Now do the damn technique."

Sakura stared at Yuugao for a minute, trying to find any signs of deception and failing. Slowly and deliberately, Sakura formed the needed handseals and pushed her chakra out. Yuugao's eyes ended up half-glazed, but quickly shot back to clarity. Telling her it was a decent first attempt, she ordered Sakura to do it again. On the third try, the technique stuck, at least until Yuugao flared her chakra and it broke. "There, now you know I can do the jutsu. Who the hell are you?" she finally demanded, patience gone.

Yuugao smirked knowingly. "Your new sensei."

--

Shino ducked below the incoming strike before rolling around the next. His right arm was dead for the moment, and would be at least four more minutes before chakra circulation through it resumed. Another strike came through and brushed through his hair, and Shino planted his foot on his opponent's stomach and pushed back.

Springing apart, Shino panted and stared into his opponent's eyes. Slowly, they came to an agreement. Hinata smiled and moved over to the tree where they had placed their things. "Your speed is better, Shino-kun. You were only hit once."

Shino massaged his right arm idly, trying to get it working sooner. "My response time is getting faster, but it still is not at appropriate levels. If my opponent in the finals is as strong as his teammate, I will need to be at peak performance. Also, he is a puppeteer, and they have a history of using poisons on their weapons. It is likely that I would lose quickly if I were even grazed with one. Suna's poisons are legendary in their potency."

"Well, you still have two weeks to train before the finals," Hinata reasoned softly. She deftly struck as spot on his shoulder, and to his credit, Shino's wince wasn't very pronounced as chakra started circulating once more. No matter what they may call it, the Hyuuga's taijutsu was anything but gentle, even if it was boosting chakra flow. "You should have plenty of time to make sure you pass."

Shino was silent for a minute, absentmindedly taking a rice ball from Hinata as she pulled food from her bag. She had been making them lunch for a while, ever since Shino had mentioned he had liked her cooking better after eating at a place in the market. "Perhaps you are right. Though it stands to reason that I will not make it past the second round."

Hinata whipped around to stare incredulously at her teammate. "What are you talking about?"

"Logically, I will not make it past the second round. Should I beat my first opponent, I will have to face either Shikamaru, or the Suna kunoichi, who we know to be fairly strong. I am uncertain if I can outmaneuver Shikamaru, and I do not have any long range attacks to contend with this Temari's wind attacks. I should be able to defend against them, but defense is nothing if you never attack."

Hinata sighed. It was tough to try to be optimistic when Shino was always using logic to shoot it down. It wasn't like he completely refuted your opinion; he just made it real hard to keep your position. "Shino-kun, wouldn't it be easier if you just attacked the puppeteer rather than trying to deal with the puppet? That would be safer."

"True, it would be, but that weakness has been exploited in the past far too often for him not to know of it. I will target him if possible, but it is likely he has prepared eventualities for that action."

The pair ate in comfortable silence for the better part of twenty minutes before Shino spoke up. "What do you think my chances are for the tournament?"

Hinata smiled. "I think you'll do very well, Shino-kun."

--

"What is the purpose of genjutsu?"

Sakura smiled, this was her type of thing. If it was a straightforward question, she knew it. Unfortunately for her, most things weren't straightforward in the shinobi world, but that's another matter. "Genjutsu is used to distract your opponent and fool their senses," she answered confidently.

Yuugao nodded. "That's a perfect academy answer. It's also completely wrong." Sakura's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Genjutsu is about control. If utilized properly, a genjutsu can fool the target's body into shutting down without you ever touching them. You can drive any person completely mad. You can turn someone to your will, making them do whatever you want. You can have them attack someone they've known their entire life. That is the true power of genjutsu. Do you understand?"

"Yes sensei," Sakura answered immediately.

"No you don't," Yuugao snapped. "You won't understand until you've done it. And I know you've never done something like that. You've never even heard of genjutsu being used like this, have you?"

Sakura was looking at the ground now. "No sensei, I haven't," she mumbled in response.

"Stop that," Yuugao ordered. "I won't have my student acting like that. If you don't know the answer, say so. If you need help figuring something out, ask. I won't discipline you for not knowing something I haven't taught you. That doesn't make sense, and it's counterproductive.

"Now, the reason you haven't heard of it used that way is because genjutsu is a dying art. It will never go away, but it's not appreciated like it used to be. Most famous ninja become easily thrilled with shows of great power, and one of the fundamentals of genjutsu is to not be caught. There's plenty of exceptions to that, we aren't going to cover those yet.

"Now, what could you do with a genjutsu that affected taste, but no other senses?"

Sakura thought for a moment, and realized she wasn't coming up with anything. "I'm not sure, Yuugao-sensei. Everything I can come up with is a support for something else. Isn't it supposed to be more effective if you take away more than one sense at a time?"

Yuugao shook her head in disgust. "Fools at the academy, they're all idiots," she grumbled, loud enough to be heard by her student, who wisely kept quiet even though she wanted to defend her former teachers. "I was given an assassination mission once, and I had to kill a merchant while implicating another person. This other person was well known for a specific poison, and I was supposed to use it to kill the target. The problem was, this poison had a distinctive flavor when orally ingested, which was also the most effective method of delivery. I infiltrated his cook staff, added the poison, and when I served it to him, I placed him under my genjutsu. He wouldn't notice anything was wrong; he just wouldn't be able to taste the poison. As he wasn't able to taste the poison, he died before anyone could get him an antidote."

Sakura's eyes were wide. "Wow Yuugao-sensei, that's really impressive. I would never have thought of that."

"Given enough time, you would have. You also don't have the experience in my way of thinking that I do. It will come in time. Something you need to understand is that the best genjutsu specialists have excellent imaginations. Most people will tell you they need to be great at strategy and tactics, but all ninja have to be great at strategy and tactics if they want to survive. Imagination is the key to making a great genjutsu wielder. You can be one without it, but it makes life easier. The reason for that is because there's no really standard genjutsu. Taijutsu and Ninjutsu are different, and that's why they're so attractive to most ninja. They can be taught easily, and you know if you're doing it wrong. Genjutsu is different. There are some that are widely used and copied, but any real genjutsu specialist is going to come up with her own techniques. Understand?"

"Yes, Yuugao-sensei," Sakura answered firmly before nervousness crept into her voice again. "Um, Yuugao-sensei, I've never really been the most creative person," she explained.

"Well, now you know the first thing you're going to have to work on."

--

Ino strolled down the market, picking out what looked good for dinner that night. Her mom could do it, but Asuma-sensei wasn't able to give them the same about of training as he used to, and Ino didn't want just hang around doing nothing.

Besides, it was a lot better than looking after the flower shop.

After she had found all that she wanted, Ino started on her way home, but veered off to the side when she saw someone she hadn't talked to in a long time. "Hey forehead, how's it going?" she greeted Sakura, who was currently sitting on a rooftop, watching the crowd and taking notes in a half-filled notebook.

"Oh, Ino-pig, I didn't notice you coming."

Ino smirked. "Guess you better work on your detection skills then. I wasn't even trying to hide my presence."

Sakura wavered and disappeared, twisting into existence six feet to the right. "You should probably work on your genjutsu detection then."

Ino started as Sakura appeared, but covered it quickly and walked over. "So what's up with you keeping a genjutsu up like that? You are in your home village, you know. And no offense, but you aren't part of a clan or have a blood limit, so it's not real likely someone's going to try to come into the village to assassinate you."

Sakura sighed. "Yuugao-sensei said it would be good training in teaching me how to keep a genjutsu up for long periods of time, and help build my chakra reserves. It makes sense if you bother to think about it," she smirked.

Ino growled at the slight, but let it pass. "So what are you doing just sitting up here? I don't see any kind of training going on."

Sakura didn't answer right away. In truth, Yuugao-sensei had told her to sit here and watch the people, and come up with stories for them. It didn't have to be true, or even plausible, but it had to be detailed. One of the best ways to identify genjutsu was to pick out details that were wrong or out of place, so genjutsu-users had to be very exacting when formulating their illusions. However, instead of the normal training Sakura had been expecting, she had been sent out to do this. Yuugao-sensei reasoned that if you couldn't think of the details, you couldn't create the details. "I'm training my mind," Sakura finally answered.

Ino nodded, knowing it wasn't the full answer, but she didn't really expect Sakura to just give away training secrets. "You said Yuugao-sensei. I thought you were with that Kakashi guy?"

Sakura nodded. "I am, but he's training Sasuke-kun for the finals right now. Yuugao-sensei will probably stop my training once I can go back to Kakashi-sensei."

"Asuma-sensei's doing the same thing with Shikamaru. Except he has Shikamaru sparring with Chouji and me at the same time to help with the actually fighting. Other than that he just plays old man games with the lazy bum."

"Well, at least you see your team. I haven't seen Sasuke-kun or Naruto since the preliminaries," Sakura complained. "And I don't even know where they are if I wanted to go see them."

"Well, at least your new sensei seems to be taking your training a bit more seriously. Naruto-kun always told me about how Kakashi-san slacked off when it came to training."

"He's not that bad," Sakura immediately defended. "He's always late, but he does train us. It's not like Naruto says. Just because he doesn't like Kakashi-sensei doesn't mean he should say things like that."

Ino looked at her friend seriously. "Sakura, ten minutes is late. Three hours everyday is ridiculous, and inexcusable. He's a bad teacher just from that."

Sakura opened her mouth to defend her teacher once more, but found she didn't have a response for that one.

"Well, I'll see you later. Stop by the flower shop whenever you want to talk."

--

Naruto sighed in relief as he dismissed the final summon. It had taken him two weeks of constant practice, but he had finally called upon all the contracted toads. Jiraiya had told him there several that weren't on the contract, and if Naruto wanted to use them, he would have to visit Mt. Myouboku just as Jiraiya had done years ago to get their personal permission. Naruto didn't think it was that big of a deal, and wasn't about to take the very good chance at missing the finals just to be able to summon a few extra toads that probably wouldn't be much more useful than any of the ones he could already summon. Jiraiya probably could have just summoned them for Naruto, but a big part of being allowed to summon them was being able to make the journey to the toad's home, to show your strength.

"Well, you finished that faster than I expected," Jiraiya commented. "But then again, most people don't have the chakra reserves you do, so you were able to work at it longer than most. But now, we're going to start on something else. How much do you know about sealing?"

Naruto thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I know a little. I can draw up a storage seal pretty quick, and I know the basics of locking seals, and that seals are the reason explosive tags work. Other than that, not much. Anko and Ibiki taught me what they knew, but it wasn't really anything past the basics. And it's not like I had a book telling me everything I need to know. I doubt anyone would leave that laying around if it did exist."

Jiraiya laughed, fully and without reservation. "Sorry about that," he apologized once he finished, "but you just reminded me of something that happened a long time ago. Your father was about to do that once, at least until I stopped him. He wanted to write down his sealing knowledge to make sure it wasn't lost. I smacked him in the back of the head for even suggesting something that stupid."

Naruto was confused. "What are you talking about? Making sure the knowledge isn't lost makes sense."

Jiraiya smacked the back of his student's head. "I just told you it's a stupid idea, now don't argue with me. The reason it's stupid is because if you write something down, it will be stolen by your enemies and used against you. It doesn't matter how well protected it may be, it doesn't matter how few people know about it, if it's written down, it can be used against you. Understand?"

"I think so."

"What's the protective wall made of?"

Naruto blinked at the non sequitur. "Huh?"

"What's the protective wall of Konoha made of?" Jiraiya asked again, slowly, as if speaking to a small child.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, not seeing the trick. "Stone and wood, everyone knows that."

"Then why hasn't it been breached before now?"

"Because…well…I don't know," Naruto answered lamely.

"Because the wall's not just wood and stone. After all, Konoha's greatest enemy is Iwa, and they are masters of Earth based attacks. They would have no trouble breaking through a wall of stone, their cardinal element."

Jiraiya paused for a moment to allow it to sink into his student's head. "The reason the wall has never been breached, in addition to Konoha's forces, is the massive seal array running throughout it. It's probably the most elaborate seal array anywhere, excluding the similar protections for the other villages. I don't know for sure what they are, because just the fact that they exist is a closely guarded secret. Even if I did know, there's no way I could break it without being noticed first. The only way to break through the wall would be to physically bust your way through, but no one in the world is strong enough to pull that off, not even Tsunade-hime with her strength. Summons would be the way to go, but so few people can pull off a summon big enough that it hardly worth worrying about."

"If it's supposed to be a secret, why are you telling me?" Naruto asked.

"Because, if you survive the next two weeks, you'll be my new apprentice, and you would have learned about it at some point. If you don't become my new apprentice, well, you won't have survived, and the point is moot. I'm just speeding the process along."

Naruto hid his shock at hearing Jiraiya call him his new apprentice, but not very well. There was a big difference between getting training from someone and being their apprentice. It was a big step.

"I expect I'll explain it more in depth later on, but for now, we're going to start with the basics. Sealing is one of the most useful arts there is, if used properly. Your father's technique was based on using seals to transport him instantly to a location. It took him years to perfect it, and even after years of study, I haven't figured out how to use the **Hiraishin**. However, seals can have combat uses other than that. For example…" Jiraiya reached inside his clothes and pulled out a scroll with the kanji for fire on the label. He unrolled the first two feet or so, applied a very brief surge of chakra, and waved it through the air. A stream of fire burst from the scroll, expanding out in a wave, before Jiraiya sent another chakra signal into the scroll. The fire was sucked into the scroll, and not an ember was left out of the sealing. Jiraiya rolled it up, applied a final burst of chakra, and tossed the scroll across the training field. He grabbed the back of Naruto's coat, and pulled him back to the tree line. The fire scroll exploded with a forceful shockwave that pushed them back, even their present distance, and blew a deep crater into the earth.

Needless to say, Naruto was more than a little impressed.

"And all that was done with about the same amount of chakra it takes to hold a **Henge** for ten minutes. Flashy ninjutsu can be devastating and intimidating, but they're no good if you burn out your reserves every time a fight goes on longer than you predict. Not to mention it's quicker. You'll eventually learn to do that with seals, if you aren't a complete dumbass, that is."

--

Sasuke panted as he flexed his wrist. He had sprained it badly several times over the course of his training, and the month was only half over already. If not for Kakashi's copied medical jutsu, he wouldn't be able to move his wrist at the moment, much less train with it.

Kakashi had forced him into a set of weights, and if they weren't helping him so much, he would have strangled the jounin with his own mask. They were utter torture. Not even his nature manipulation was this bad. His bloodline had made it much easier to learn to manipulate his lightning based chakra, having watched Kakashi carefully when he was shown the exercises. Still, he was only starting the second exercise and wasn't making much progress with it. Kakashi assured him that he was doing much better than he expected, but doubted that he would be able to make it even halfway on the second exercise before the month was out. It was much more difficult than the first, and even though Sasuke knew exactly how to manipulate his chakra, he still couldn't do it! His **Sharingan** was of no help to him with this, and that was the worst part. His **Sharingan** should have allowed him to copy it perfectly the first time, but something didn't work.

If only his bloodline was fully mastered. That would undoubtedly make it so that nothing would be beyond his reach. Not even Itachi. His eyes were the problem. A fully mature **Sharingan** could undoubtedly copy the lightning manipulation with ease. But no matter how much he used his bloodline, it wouldn't evolve.

To make matters worse, he didn't have any other idea of how to get his eyes to mature. The Uchiha clan scrolls were vague on the subject, as it was something that was passed down verbally, rather than through writings. After all, there would always be someone to teach the younger generation. Nothing could wipe out the clan.

At least that had been the thought. Until Itachi. Now he was the last one left, because Itachi was no Uchiha.

Kakashi was training him to beat Gaara. Sasuke knew that. He also knew that Kakashi was training him to beat Gaara, and no one else. He was learning how to fight and beat only Gaara, not Neji, or any of the other finalists. He had his issues with it, but knew there wasn't a way around it, unless he wanted to train all by himself. Kakashi had enough clout in Konoha to keep any ninja the village had from accepting him as a student.

Sasuke grunted as he started another speed and agility exercise. Kakashi had told him his reasons for training him to beat Gaara specifically. He wanted Sasuke to win, and you couldn't beat Gaara without specialized training, unless you had overwhelming power that Sasuke reluctantly recognized he didn't have. Besides, the finals weren't particularly likely to go past the second round. It was all well and good to have it set up in a tournament style, but that was really just an illusion. The finals were set up to push contestants to the limit, and make them show everything they have. Most of the examiners weren't expecting a good fight after the first round. Too many genin didn't know how to pace themselves, and even if they did, it never really seemed to do much.

Not to mention that this year's crop was pretty good. Sasuke could admit that to himself. Even Naruto was better than Sasuke had ever expected in the prelims. He had obviously been holding back in their practices, but even if he wasn't necessarily a dead last anymore, he was still the biggest idiot he had ever seen. Beyond that, he was fighting Hyuuga Neji in his first fight. Naruto had almost no chance of beating Neji, as Neji was a genius shinobi, and Naruto was still an idiot. And an idiot like Naruto stood no chance against a genius prodigy. Just to beat another dead last, Naruto had been forced to blow himself up. If he continued with that kind of strategy, there was no way he would win.

Still, it wouldn't do to count out the rest of the finalists. Once he beat Gaara, he would have to face Neji, unless his teammate pulled out a miracle and crippled the Hyuuga or something. As pleasant as the thought of the arrogant Hyuuga in pain was, Sasuke knew it was only on the barest reaches of possibility. However, if he wasn't exhausted by the time the final match came, Sasuke wasn't sure whom he would face.

He knew it wouldn't be the Nara. Even though Shikamaru was good at strategy and tactics, Sasuke knew he didn't have the staying power to last, not when there were stronger combatants he would have to face. He could no doubt maneuver his way into beating the Suna kunoichi, but he wouldn't likely be able to do the same in the second round. Sasuke knew of Shino's intelligence, and puppeteers were notorious for planning ahead. Unless Shino was able to battle his opponent to a draw, Shikamaru was of no consequence.

The Suna kunoichi probably wasn't worth worrying about. She was powerful with her fan, but seemed too one-dimensional. All he would have to do was remove her weapon, and she would be neutralized. He had briefly been concerned about getting in close enough take her fan, but after seeing how fast Kakashi's weight training was making him, Sasuke had no reservations about saying he would be able to get past the wind blasts.

Shino and the puppeteer presented the biggest problems. Even though Sasuke had known him for a number of years, Shino was still a mostly unknown quality. He was incredibly difficult to read, and even harder to fluster or aggravate. Manipulating a person's emotions in order to get them to make a mistake was one of the most commonly used shinobi tactics. It was also a major reason as to why you were taught back in the academy how to control your emotions. If you didn't, you were dead. The main problem was that Shino took that lesson to heart, like all Aburame. If he couldn't fluster him, it was up to Sasuke to beat him on pure fighting skills alone. Sasuke didn't doubt that he could do it, but again, Sasuke knew his fighting skills would be enough to win. And by that point, Shino will have fought two fights, and even if he wasn't exhausted and chakra depleted, Sasuke really doubted he would have any hidden tricks left.

The puppeteer worried him the most, after Gaara. If not for his enhanced eyes, Sasuke doubted he would have been able to see through Kankuro's strategy in the prelims. It wasn't complex, but it was very effective. And if there was anything the academy had drilled into their heads about puppeteers, it was that they always had another trick. There was always another way for them to attack. Sasuke would have to find a way around his attacks quickly enough to get to the actual puppeteer before he could unleash another barrage. Easier said than done. His bloodline wouldn't be able to warn him about any impending attack until just before it was released. That wasn't nearly as much time as Sasuke was used to.

"Stop forcing it. You're trying too hard, and if you do that, it'll never work."

Sasuke glared at his sensei, knowing his thoughts had gotten him worked up while he was practicing. He was just lucky that the **Chidori** could be used with only the first stage of lightning manipulation learned. Otherwise, it was unlikely that Sasuke would have been anywhere near being able to use it for the finals. However, if Sasuke ever wanted to learn the advanced form, the **Raikiri**, he would have to master elemental manipulation. Of course, this was just a tournament with genin hopeful to become chuunin, and lucky enough to get past the prelims. The way Sasuke saw it, he wouldn't have to use the **Chidori** more than once, and most of the people who made it as far as they did were lucky to have had weak enough people to fight in the prelims. They never would have made it as far if they had to fight someone stronger.

His only regret was that the spandex freak wouldn't be in the finals, and Sasuke wouldn't be able to prove to Lee that a genius will always surpass someone like him.

Sasuke took a breath and started molding his chakra once more. Lightning chakra was difficult to use due to how hard it was to control. Sasuke was able to make a decent amount of it already, but at this point, he wasn't able to keep it from fleeing or dying out almost immediately. It was even harder to do when he was irritated or annoyed, two emotions he felt nearly constantly when training with Kakashi.

Sasuke felt the chakra flowing, and found it was working better than usual. It was finally working! Sasuke concentrated and pushed more elemental chakra out of his coils, he was finally going to be able to move on…

FOOMP!

The lightning chakra overloaded and surged back on Sasuke, electrocuting him, and sending his arms into a brief spasm. Kakashi shook his head briefly, and looked at his student dispassionately with his one eye. "I've told you to stop forcing it. If you force it, it will either dissipate, or shock you. Hold on loosely, but don't let go."

'_Well, now that just sounds stupid. Everyone knows something needs a firm grip to be controlled.'_

--

Naruto grunted as he woke up on the unforgiving ground of the training field. He had taken to sleeping there as soon as he had figured out that it was literally on the other side of the village from his house. There was no way he was going to walk all that way when he could sleep right on the training grounds. Not to mention he got to sleep just that little bit extra. However, it did mean that he hadn't seen hide or hair of his friends, family, or house in nearly a month. The only companionship he had was Jiraiya, a few of the various toad summons, and that annoying voice in his head.

"**I resent that, I am not annoying. I am at the very least irritating, and that's if I'm not trying to mess with you. I could be much worse, you know. I haven't been sending you images of that Haku girl, have I?"** To prove his point, an image of a completely nude Haku, steam and hands just barely covering her salient portions, blossomed in Naruto's mind. The blonde blushed furiously, and sent a particularly violent mental jab at the Kitsune Lord.

"**Hey, respect your elders. It's not my fault you can't look at a naked girl without turning into a blushing wreck. We'll have to work on that before we visit the Den."**

'_What are you talking about?'_

"**The Den, the main retreat for all kitsune on this plane of existence? At least in this region of the world. Or were you talking about your inability to be anything but a gibbering puddle around a nude female?"**

'_That's not true!'_

"**Yes it is, and you know it. I'm going to have to start sending you some more of those pictures if you don't make a move on that Haku girl soon. I've let it slide because you've been training, but you need to start gathering potential mates."**

'_Mates! As in more than one girl? Are you nuts?'_

"**I don't see what the problem is, you've already started it on your own. You've got three already, even if you're too blind to see it."**

'_You're nuts, there's no way you're telling the truth.'_

Naruto heard a serious warning growl coming from his tenant. **"Remember that I am not the most feared demon in existence for a reason, boy. I may be sealed, but I still command respect. If you forget that, you may find your dreams taking a steady decline. To put in terms you may understand, why break the body when you can break the mind and spirit? I may twist words and bend the truth, omit details and show distractions, but I do NOT lie. Accuse me of it again and I'll torture your mind until you're nothing but a comatose husk, useless to the world.**

"**Now that that's out of the way, know that you're going to have multiple mates, whether you're planning on it or not. You're not really going to have much of a choice in the matter about that. However, with how it stands now, at least you're getting a bit of a say in who you're mates are."**

'_I still have no idea what you're talking about. Just spell it out for me, it'll save time.'_

"**And it would take away a great deal of my fun. So I do believe I'll keep torturing you. I've already mentioned the ice wielder, now do you have any idea who else I'm talking about?"**

'_Well, considering I think I would have seen it if any other girls were interested in me like that, no I don't. Now tell me who you think likes me like that, and then I can tell you how wrong you are.'_

"**Kit, I've been dealing with females longer than you can conceive, and in that time I do believe I've come to understand them better than you. I don't claim to completely understand them, but frankly, I think Kami has trouble with that sometimes, and he's omniscient. There are two other females who would be suitable mates that I know are interested in, and probably more. And once we go to the Den, the females there will be all but throwing themselves at you. It would be easier for you to refuse the majority of them if you already have someone."**

'_Wait, are you saying I'm going to have fangirls when I go to the Den? Cause I'm not sure if I want to go in that case.'_

"**Nonsense, of course you won't have fangirls. I won't have any of my clan acting like that. However, a great number of them will probably try to seduce you. You are, after all, my heir. Once you absorb all my power, you'll be the head of the kitsune clan. Granted, that won't be for several decades, but the fact that someday you will someday be head will have females going after you in order to secure and promote their place in the clan. And once you become head, you'll have to mate with a minimum number in order to keep the clan going."**

'_So I really don't get a choice in the matter?'_

"**You can choose who you'll be with, but no, you'll eventually have to propagate the clan. I'm not sure where the problem is, I've just told you that you'll get to have sex with many beautiful women, or kitsune, as the case may be."**

'_You know, you still haven't told me who you think is an 'acceptable mate' for me.'_

"**You noticed that, did you? Fine, I suppose I can throw you a bone. You've known them for most of your life, and you've fought alongside them. Blonde and brunette. Come on, I can't get much more obvious than this. One of them has already been out on a date with you."**

'_Ino-chan? Well, I suppose that makes sense, but she hasn't talked to me since the prelims.'_

"**That probably has something to do with the fact that you haven't set foot in the village proper for almost a month, and nobody knows where you are."**

'_Oh. Right. Wait, are you talking about Ten-chan too? I always thought she was kind of had a crush on Neji.'_

"**Kit, she tried to catch you changing more times than I can count on that mission to the Bear's region, and she can barely keep herself from creaming her panties whenever she sees you in your hanyou form."**

'_Hmm, I always wondered what that smell was…'_

"**Well now you know. And knowing is half the battle. Personally, I recommend going after them soon. You never know what's going to happen."**

Naruto was about to retort, but felt an incoming chakra source that was uniquely familiar. Gaara stepped out from behind a tree a moment later, staring impassively at Naruto with his arms crossed. "Uzumaki."

"Hey, what are you doing all the way out here?" Naruto asked, a little wary.

"I am warning you about the invasion that will take place during the exam finals tomorrow. Suna and Oto will attack. Do not die."

Gaara made to jump off but Naruto called him back. "Wait a second, invasion, what's going on? Konoha's at peace with Suna, isn't it? Why would they attack us?"

"Konoha has taken much of Suna's business due to our idiotic daimyo. Oto approached the Kazekage, and he declared that we would go along with the plan. The invasion will fail."

"Why are you telling me this? And why do you think it's going to fail?" Naruto's head was spinning with the revelation.

"The invasion will be repelled because I am not going to assist. I was originally supposed to release Shukaku to attack the village. Without that, they will not win." Gaara was silent for a moment. "And I am telling you because I do not wish to see you dead. I would be displeased if that were to happen."

"Oh. Is there anyone else not attacking? Anyone else you don't want to die?"

"If you wish to take this time to assassinate one of your own village, I do not care. You are the only Konoha nin I am concerned with. However, refrain from attacking my siblings or Baki. They are also abstaining from the attack."

Gaara hopped onto a tree branch before pausing and looking over his shoulder. "Uzumaki, you are…a friend. I will see you at the finals."


	12. Chapter 12

Zabuza leaned up against the wooden bracing as he waited for his signal to move. He was cloaked by a genjutsu and hidden by the rafters of the roof. There was a decent line of sight to the competition field, but his primary objective was to keep an eye on the crowd and watch for any irregularities.

Irregularities. That was what they had said. Zabuza knew what that meant though. He was supposed to watch for any sign of Sound nins making a move, and stop them. Preferably by making sure they wouldn't cause any more trouble in the future. Which, of course, was just a nice way of saying he was supposed to kill them.

However, he couldn't be detected until the invasion began, due to the numerous treaties in effect. It wouldn't matter that Oto was about to invade them, if he was found to be the person who struck first, Konoha would be at fault, and that would give the other villages all the reason they needed to attack.

It was a tangled web of words the Hidden Villages supported themselves with. It was actually terrifying when Zabuza thought about it. The only thing that kept the entire continent from descending into bloody war was a few words spoken between men that didn't mean them in the first place. Any perceived slight or wrong step could be disastrous for everyone involved.

Even if one of Konoha's biggest enemies showed up during the exam, Zabuza wouldn't be able to do anything, not unless it was an enemy of all the villages, and there was no one around to see it. And in a crowded stadium, that simply wasn't possible.

And so, Zabuza was doing one of the things he did best: waiting.

Anyone who would talk with him would assume the Demon of the Mist was more likely to charge into the middle of a battlefield screaming over doing anything stealthy. And for the most part, they would be wrong. That wasn't to say that Zabuza didn't enjoy a messy, brutal battle, but he wasn't acknowledged as one of the best silent assassins for nothing.

When it came down to it, the biggest part of pulling off a silent kill was waiting until the perfect moment. The man who had taught Zabuza the art of silent killing had impressed upon him the necessity of this fact. That Zabuza did the majority of his killing with a giant sword made it more challenging to make it silent, and made him all the better for it.

Grinning in anticipation, Zabuza waited.

--

Ibiki waited behind the corner for his target to move into position. The target was approaching rapidly, just a second longer…

STRIKE!

Ibiki leapt from his hiding spot and snatched Naruto out of mid-air by the back of his collar. Naruto instinctively tried to struggle, but Ibiki had known the blonde for much his life, and snaked his hand quickly to the spot of Naruto's demise.

Naruto burst out in a fit of giggles, trying to restrain himself as Ibiki tickled him mercilessly. It was an old tactic, one that Anko had started. Naruto was only ticklish in one spot, along his left side, but once Anko had found it, Naruto never stood a chance against her in any fight. It only became worse when Anko had shown Ibiki where it was. Ibiki didn't subdue Naruto this way very often, but as the interrogator had said on many occasions before (though definitely in a different context and about different people), he loved to watch 'em squirm.

The blonde wrestled himself out of Ibiki's grasp, still sucking in air as he tried to calm himself down, and glared at his adoptive brother. "What the hell was that for?"

Ibiki smiled his frightening smile. "You're about to go participate in a something that might change your life forever. I wanted to make sure you weren't too stressed."

"Yeah, yeah, you just like messing with me."

Ibiki didn't comment.

Naruto went through the familiar seals for the privacy jutsu, speaking only after he finished them. "So are you going to be at the stadium?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"I take it you know what's going to happen?" Ibiki continued without waiting. "We need to keep it contained as much as possible, and I'm needed elsewhere. I'm in charge of directing the forces on the northeast wall."

"So you're not going to be at my match," Naruto said in a flat voice.

Ibiki sighed internally, but didn't show it outwardly. "I know you want me at the stadium, but Hokage-sama needs me on the wall. Besides, by not being at the fights, I'll have a legitimate reason for requesting a copy of the tapes. I'll need to see if anyone would be a good choice for the information division. The fact that I'll have a copy of you beating the hell out of that arrogant Hyuuga for the house will just be a bonus."

Naruto snorted. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Ibiki's face softened ever so slightly. "You know I want to be there, right?"

Naruto didn't meet Ibiki's eyes. "Yeah, I know." Then he brightened. "Guess you'll just have to make it up to me."

"Yeah kid, I will. Do good."

--

Shino was mentally reviewing his strategies when he felt another presence fall in beside him. "You're almost late," he noted.

Naruto waved it off. "I got here before my match started. I just didn't want to stand out here with you so everyone can stare at me." He looked around. "And where's Sasuke? Shouldn't he be here already?"

Shino mildly adjusted his glasses, a motion that Naruto associated with annoyance. "It would seem that he has not arrived yet. Perhaps he will be disqualified before he gets the chance to make a fool of himself. Arriving late would make a bad impression for Konoha, though I wouldn't put such an illogical action past him."

"Hey, knock it off. He's still my teammate, you know."

Shino merely looked impassively at Naruto, the barest hint of a raised eyebrow denoting his skepticism.

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, I wouldn't put it past him either, but he's my teammate. That means I'm the only one who gets to badmouth him. So knock it off."

"Alright, it seems everyone's here who's going to be here," Genma announced. "The rules for this tournament are the same as the ones in the prelims. There are no restrictions on techniques, other than not the endanger the audience. You fight until your opponent acknowledges defeat or is dead. If I decide a fight is over, you will stop immediately. Now if the other contestants would proceed to the box. Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Neji, it is time for your match."

As the other contestants trudged up to the box, Naruto smirked at Neji. "You know, I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Hinata. I wasn't there for it, but I heard about your match. And what you did just wasn't right. Course, I was gonna kick your ass anyway, but that's just cause you're a jerk."

Neji looked on coldly. "You are an idiot. You are not fated to win this match, much less make me pay."

Naruto continued as if he never heard his opponent. "But you know, you should be glad it's me you've got to fight, and not Shino. He wants to kill you for what you did. I'm just gonna kick you around for a while."

Neji barely contained a flinch. He knew the Aburame was looking for vengeance, even if it was futile. At least once a day over the past month, Neji had found kikai bugs on his person. It was usually only one, not enough to concern himself with, but it sent a clear message. _I can get to you anywhere, even in the confines of the Hyuuga Compound._

A brief shudder went down Neji's spine.

Genma waited for them to say something further but when silence settled between the two he shouted, "Fight!"

Naruto sprang backwards, creating more distance just as Neji sprang forward, attempting to get in close. Fitting his hands in a familiar seal, Naruto created a dozen clones; some dashing in to attack as others stayed back and waited for an opening.

"This attack is futile," Neji proclaimed as he disrupted Naruto's clones with strike after strike. "I have already figured it out. One of you always stays back, avoiding my Jyuuken strikes. You are merely a coward, scared of being hit, and a poor excuse for a shinobi." With his final word, Neji broke free from the clones and struck the one that had fallen back, sending a deadly blast into Naruto's heart.

Blood dribbled down Naruto's chin as he coughed once, before he smiled up at Neji. "Stop thinking you know what you're talking about, baka," Naruto insulted as he exploded into smoke. "**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

Neji barely had time to register the voice behind him as his eyes picked up the mass of shuriken flying at him from all directions. _'He anticipated my attack? He purposely left a clone behind to set up this attack, and now I'm surrounded. I did not think I would have to use this technique against this fool, but obviously there is more to Uzumaki than meets the eye.'_

Neji hurriedly expelled chakra from all his tenketsu, spinning violently. A dome of chakra formed just as the shuriken reached him, bouncing off harmlessly, only a few remaining solid afterwards.

Naruto looked on with wide eyes, surprised that his attack had failed. Suddenly, he grinned. "Well, this is gonna be a lot more fun than I thought." With a fearsome battle cry, all the Naruto's descended on Neji.

Neji was only able to destroy fifteen of the clones before he was overwhelmed by the numbers, and was forced to start his spin again.

The numerous clones flew back before puffing into smoke, the real Naruto skidding along the ground as Neji smirked. "This is the Hyuuga clan's ultimate defense, the **Kaiten**. There is no way to defeat it. No one since its creation has figured out a way around it. You cannot beat me at close range, and you cannot touch me at a distance. You were fated to lose this match from the moment I was announced as your opponent, so save yourself the embarrassment and forfeit."

"Hell no! I'm gonna be Hokage some day, and there's no way any future Hokage would lose to a guy like you!"

"Future Hokage? Do not try fool yourself. Only a very few are destined to be Hokage, and there is no way a dead last like you would ever become Hokage," Neji sneered.

"Yeah? Well, I guess I'll just have to prove you wrong."

With that, Naruto charged, engaging in close combat. Neji artfully dodged each attack, doing all he could to get away from the blonde, surprised that he had to work this hard. He seemed to have sped up dramatically, like Lee did after dropping his weights.

Little did Neji know that Naruto hadn't been idle during their exchange of words and had stealthily deactivated his gravity seal. The duo quickly fell into a rhythm, with Naruto attacking and Neji defending, neither gaining any ground against the other.

Sadly, the beginning of the end quickly came as Naruto hit a patch of loose gravel and his foot slid off balance. Neji took the opportunity and landed a devastating Jyuuken strike to Naruto's ribs. Without giving the blonde a chance to recover, the prodigy drove hit after hit into the jinchuuriki's torso, incapacitating him.

Neji jumped back to prepare his final attack. "This is the end, dead last. I told you of your fate, but you didn't listen. Now learn. You are within the field of my divination. **Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho**!"

"Two strikes!"

"Four strikes!"

"Eight strikes!"

"Sixteen strikes!"

"Thirty-two strikes!"

"Sixty-four strikes!"

Naruto flew back from the force of the final hits, groaning in pain. "I have just sealed sixty-four of your tenketsu. You are unable to use your chakra, and unable to move. Give up before I'm forced to kill you."

A pained wheeze caught Neji's attention as it quickly became a harsh chuckle. "Do you think all I did for the past month was goof off? I knew I was going to face you, so I came up with some back-up plans in case you decided to seal my chakra."

The Hyuuga prodigy's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? I can see your chakra system, and it is sealed. Even if you did have a plan, it either failed, or you are now unable to effect it. It is my victory."

Naruto's laugh surged for a brief moment. "Hah! Don't you remember the rules? Not much of a genius then if you can't remember something so soon after being told. I'm not out of this fight until you kill me or I give up. And since I never run, and I know I'm not going to die, it's not your win, teme."

Naruto slowly pushed himself up from his prone position to his feet. Unsteadily, he smirked. "I live in the same damn village as you. Did you think I wouldn't know what a Hyuuga can do with their taijutsu style? It's only one of the most documented things in the village! And with as long as the Hyuuga clan has been around, don't you think ways to fight it haven't been invented? I've been pushing out a constant field of chakra ever since you used your second **Kaiten**."

Neji smirked down at Naruto. "Did you really think that would work? I've already told you, I can see your chakra coils, and they are sealed. If you really had read up on the Hyuuga clan, you would know that there is no way for you to block the **Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho**."

"Yeah, I read it, and unless you're watching a different fight than me, you would know that I didn't block it. I took it, because I knew I could. My field of chakra lessened the effects enough for me to do what I'm about to do. Unseal all my tenketsu."

"Impossible!" Neji roared.

"Watch me," Naruto countered.

Delving deep into his wells of chakra, Naruto pulled on his coils until they felt fit to burst, only to smile and explode.

At least, that's what it looked like to all the Hyuuga's watching. Naruto had built up his chakra to the point where Neji's blocks were unable to contain them anymore, leaving Neji to stare on in amazement as Naruto did the impossible once more.

Defeat the Hyuuga clan's perfect attack.

"Fine, if you will not learn your lesson from that attack, I guess I will have to teach you once more," Neji sneered. "With as much chakra as you just released, you will not be able to continue much longer."

The prodigy dashed forward, much as he had at the end of his preliminary fight, with the intent to kill. He drove his hand forward, glowing with chakra, and pushed it into Naruto's heart.

Or rather, it would have if Naruto hadn't moved at the last second, parrying Neji's blow and trapping it with his other hand against his shoulder. "You know, another thing I learned when I was reading up on the counters used against the Hyuuga clan was that they are very dependent on their hands and arms to use Jyuuken. Let's take care of that problem."

Neji attempted to pull his arm away, but Naruto had his hand in a tight hold that was slowly breaking his fingers. Naruto grinned widely as he brought his right arm up and hammered it down at an angle.

CRACK!

"Aaagghh!"

The sickening sound echoed around the arena as Neji howled in pain, clutching his broken arm. It was no longer at the correct angle, and there was an obvious bulge where Neji's bone was pushing against his skin.

"Now, are you going to forfeit, or keep fighting?" Naruto hissed as he yanked Neji's head up to stare him in the eyes.

"Ptooh."

WHAM!

Naruto wiped the spit off his face after he sent Neji across the arena with the force of his knee. "You know, I actually like you more for fighting," Naruto decided, watching Neji stand up, now looking as haggard as Naruto.

Neji turned his body so his broken right arm was away from Naruto, and entered a familiar stance. But not the familiar stance everyone was expecting.

It was a Goken stance, Gai's general style.

Neji was not proclaimed a genius for nothing. Jyuuken was Neji's first and most powerful style, but Goken was something that Neji picked up after training with Gai for more than a year. It was impossible not to. Also, he knew his Jyuuken was now all but useless. Jyuuken counted on the arms and hands to deliver its strikes, and with a broken arm and several broken fingers, Neji was no longer able to use it. However, Goken focused primarily on using legs and feet to attack. So even if the user had their arms shattered, they would still be able to fight.

Unfortunately for Neji, Naruto had already seen and defeated a Goken practitioner, one who was far better with the style than Neji.

Naruto created three clones and sent them after Neji, setting up his final attack. "Hey Neji, you've actually done better than I expected. I never thought I'd have to pull this out against you. But I promised Shino that I would make sure you pay for hurting Hinata, and that's what I'm about to do." Biting his thumb, Naruto leapt high in the air, forming his handseals. "**Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu**!" A large toad, one easily thirty feet tall, poofed into existence above Neji, gravity quickly pulling it down.

Neji did all he could get out from underneath the building sized toad, and barely succeeded in keeping from getting crushed. Even so, he wasn't quick enough to evade the orange toad for long as its tongue snapped out and wrapped it around Neji, bringing the Hyuuga up to look Naruto in the eye. "Do you forfeit? I'd rather not kill you, but if you won't give up, I'm going to have to, unless Genma over there stops the match. And frankly, I think he's enjoying this, so I wouldn't count on that. Keep in mind that if you don't acknowledge defeat, I'll have Gamaeki here beat you against the ground until every bone in your body is broken. I'm sure Tsunade could fix you back up, but you'd probably have a lot of trouble moving around for the rest of your life, much less have a chance at being a shinobi again. So, do you yield?"

Neji turned a harsh glare on Naruto, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't attack, he couldn't get any rotation for a **Kaiten**, and if he didn't forfeit, he would probably die. With a deep sigh, Neji shouted loud enough for the entire stadium to hear, "Examiner, I yield!"

"Hyuuga Neji forfeits, Uzumaki Naruto advances!" Genma announced.

Before having Gamaeki release Neji, Naruto spoke again. "I don't know where you got caught up with this fate bullshit, but you're gonna end up dead if you keep it up. Some people don't take being called a loser as good as me.

"And one last thing. Know you're getting off light for what you did to Hinata. Shino would have had his bugs eat you alive."

Back on the ground, Neji was carted off by the medics as Genma regarded Naruto with a curious eye. "Was it really necessary to do that?"

Naruto shrugged. "He had it coming. And it's not like he was going to listen any other way. Besides, it's not like I did any permanent damage. The arm was a clean break and will heal fine as long as none of the medics screw up."

"Speaking of medics, you should get over there to get checked out."

A quick shake of the head was Naruto's response. "I don't really need it. I heal pretty quick. Besides, I want to be here for the _big event_."

The way Genma's eyebrow disappeared into his bandana told Naruto he knew what was going to happen today but was more surprised that Naruto knew. "Just don't die," he said finally. "I don't want to have to be the one to explain that to Anko."

Shaking his head, Naruto made his away from Ibiki's poker buddy and up to the contestant's booth.

--

"As one of the next contestants is not here yet, we will postpone the match."

Shikamaru's head whipped around to face the examiner. "Shit, my match is being pushed up?" he worried quietly.

"Next match, Sabaku no Kankuro versus Aburame Shino!"

"At least I still have a bit of time. I just hope Shino doesn't take his guy down too quickly," Shikamaru muttered to himself.

Kankuro thought about forfeiting, so he wouldn't have to show off Karasu before the invasion, but quickly remembered Gaara had forbidden him from participating. Which was just as well with him, Kankuro had no death wish. Not to mention that by fighting he had a chance to advance to chuunin, a rank he should have gotten at least a year ago.

With that thought in mind, Kankuro jumped eagerly into the arena wishing his opponent would hurry up. Shino seemed to realize how impatient Kankuro was and walked sedately down the steps and to the center of the ring.

"Aburame Shino versus Sabaku no Kankuro. Fight!"

Kankuro leapt back as Shino tossed a trio of shuriken in his direction, only to have them intercepted by his puppet, Karasu, who Kankuro had undone from his wrappings just in time. Kankuro directed Karasu into a charge, but instead of fleeing as most did, Shino stood his ground.

Fifteen feet from the Aburame, a hidden compartment on Karasu's wrist dropped open, launching a poisoned knife at a blistering speed. Even so, Kankuro's mouth dropped open as his opponent just stood there and took the hit square in the eye.

Before Kankuro could make sense of what just happened, bugs seemed to eat away at Shino's face before the illusion failed and the kikai dispersed, heading for Kankuro and Karasu.

The Suna genin was forced to duck as Shino swept at his head with a devastating hook punch, quickly followed by a low sweep that connected with Kankuro's ankle. Before Shino could do anything more, Karasu moved in to intercept him. Shino jumped back to avoid a trio of poisoned senbon the puppet had just sent his way, ending up ten feet from Kankuro, who was panting behind Karasu.

"You're better than I thought," the puppeteer complimented. "I wasn't expecting to take this long to beat you."

"Do not presume you have won yet," Shino said blandly. "I am not as easy to defeat as you think."

With that, Shino drew two kunai and tossed one at Kankuro's feet, the puppeteer catching sight of the blast slip just in time to get out of the lethal blast radius. Even with his quick escape, he still got singed. Oddly, the chakra lines connecting him to Karasu were getting weaker.

As the dust cleared, Kankuro could see the Aburame's insects crawling along his chakra strings, gorging themselves. They seemed to pour out of his opponent's body, with more and more appearing every second, a black wave of bugs rushing toward him. Having seen what the kikai could to someone during the prelims, Kankuro knew that was a bad thing.

Then it happened. One of the chakra strings snapped, and the corresponding arm on Karasu went limp. If anyone knew how to read Shino's moods and reactions as well as Naruto did, they would have noticed he was pleased with that turn of events.

Kankuro smirked. "So you think it's that easy to take down Karasu? Think again."

The once limp appendage of the wooden puppet sprang back to life, sending a trio of kunai at the bug user. Even as good as Shino was compared to some of Konoha's genin, he could only avoid two of the kunai. The last sliced deeply into Shino's left bicep, sending a vicious spike of pain through his body.

"You've lost, Aburame. The poison that kunai was coated with will render you completely paralyzed shortly. You have three minutes, at most, to defeat me."

"Then it's a good thing I've already won." Shino let fly the kunai Kankuro had almost forgotten about, the explosive note separating puppet and puppeteer as the kikai continued to chew through string after string of connecting chakra. Kankuro started to strafe around to a position behind Karasu but could see his opponent slam his hands into the ground and whisper something as a wall of earth sprang up directly in his path. Gritting his teeth, Kankuro dove around the wall, only for another wall to appear between him and his puppet. He swerved around that one only to come up short of his intended target.

He felt his chakra leaving him rapidly, and when he looked down, Kankuro could see a shifting mass of black covering him. He despaired as he felt his remaining chakra strings disappear, and watched in confusion as the earth walls he had so desperately tried to avoid twisted away, revealing them to be nothing more than a genjutsu. Then he saw his opponent walking calmly towards him.

"The kikai currently eating your chakra have been specially bred. They are known as burrowers to anyone not a member of my clan or to those who survive an encounter with them, that is. They cannot fly, they move slower than a normal kikai, and are useless as scouts. However, the amount currently covering you can deplete a jounin's chakra supply in less than a minute. I released them at the start of the fight, and they submerged themselves to just under the ground, out of sight. From there, it was a simple matter of maneuvering you to where I wanted you. From the pained expression on your face, I surmise you just figured out that you will run out of chakra long before I succumb to your paralytic concoction. Forfeit, or die from chakra depletion."

The middle child of the Kazekage gritted his teeth, trying to hold out and knowing it was a futile battle. At this point, he would be lucky to be able to stand in a few days, much less be able to fight. "I…surrender."

"Sabaku no Kankuro forfeits, Aburame Shino advances!"

The black mass of insects moved as one when Shino called them back, and Kankuro gave a deep sigh of relief. Just before he passed out, he murmured, "Upper left pocket, antidote."

One of the medics who had rushed the field retrieved the small bottle, palming it as he guided Shino out of the arena.

--

"Next match, Sabaku no Temari versus Nara Shikamaru!"

Temari whipped her fan around, creating a gust of wind before unfolding the weapon completely and jumping on it, riding the air to the center of the ring. "So troublesome," the lazy genin muttered. "Wonder if I can just forfeit instead?"

"Kick her ass, Shika!" he heard Ino cry from up in the stands.

He sighed. "At this point, it'll be worse if I forfeit."

"Come on Shika, get down there," Naruto insisted, coming up behind him.

"Naruto, if you knock me off this balcony, I'll kill you in your sleep." Shikamaru turned on his heel to see his friend trying to hide his position by swiftly putting his hand behind his head and chuckling nervously.

"About time," Temari groused as her opponent reached her. Shikamaru just huffed.

"Feel lucky he didn't go to sleep on his way down here," Genma smirked. Temari grunted.

"Nara Shikamaru versus Sabaku no Temari. Fight!"

Temari immediately swung her fan around with a blast of wind that knocked Shikamaru back into the wall, only for Shikamaru to crumble into the remains of a **Tsuchi Bunshin**. Temari cursed and jumped as she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Her opponent's shadow chased her, growing thinner the more she backed up, eventually running out three quarters of the way across the field.

'_So, he can only go so far. And the wall's shadow boosts his reach. But as long as I stay past this point I'll be fine.'_

Temari caught Shikamaru's eye across the battlefield, and growled in annoyance. He didn't even have the grace to look interested. He just stood there, staring up at the sky, watching the clouds float past.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and entered his 'thinking pose'. A minute later, his eyes opened again. "You've lost," he muttered not to anyone in particular, but Temari picked up his words on the wind.

The Kazekage's daughter gritted her teeth and sent another barrage of wind in Shikamaru's direction, dust kicking up in its wake, obscuring everyone's vision. She twisted her fan into position and deflected the kunai flying towards her head. Noticing her opponent's shadow darting towards her, she smirked. The smug expression quickly fled when she saw the shadow cross the line she had marked. _'Of course, as the sun goes down, his shadow will get longer…'_

Her arm suddenly sent messages of stabbing pain to her brain, causing her to falter, but she was beyond the shadow's reach for the moment. A kunai was stuck in her left bicep, and as she glanced around, a brace of shuriken flying at her position made her jump back, sending another wind blast at a suddenly destroyed **Tsuchi Bunshin**. She made to turn back to calculate her opponent's current range, only to find she couldn't move. She tried to fight, but it was useless. Shikamaru had used the shadow cast by the depression where Naruto's toad landed to boost his shadow. She found herself in the middle of the arena staring into the bored eyes of her opponent. And much to her dismay, he had a clone with him. The clone drew a kunai and placed it millimeters from her throat. Her eyes flicked to the judge and gave a look of assent. "Winner, Nara Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru released his jutsu and watched with satisfaction as Temari's eyes widened at the disappearance of his clone. It went away in a puff of smoke. "A freaking illusion? That wasn't another **Tsuchi Bunshin**?" she exclaimed.

The lazy genin shrugged. "Konoha nin don't work alone. In real life, that would have been a teammate, not an illusion. Besides, if it works, why waste the chakra?"

Temari just gritted her teeth and growled as she stomped off with the medics to get her arm looked at.

--

As soon as Shikamaru made his way back up to Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke appeared in a swirl of leaves. A roar from the crowd signaled their approval of their flashy entrance. "This is certainly troublesome," Shikamaru stated after the cheering settled down. "Not only is he allowed an extension past his normal match time, but he is praised when he arrives late."

Naruto shrugged. "Most of them are civilians, what do they know? And teme's used to getting what he wants. And after a month with Kakashi-sensei, he was bound to pick up some of his habits." He paused. "I wonder how his fangirls would react if he started reading Ero-sennin's books?"

"Troublesome bastard would probably start a fad."

The duo settled into watching the match, and Naruto noticed something after half a minute or so. "That dirty, thieving rat! He stole Lee's taijutsu!" Naruto accused as he shot up.

"Huh?"

"I may have only fought Lee once, but that fight lasted a good twenty minutes. I had to tear that style apart in my head before I could even touch Lee, and I had to pull out all the stops to beat him. I _know_ Lee's style when I see it. It kicked me around the floor enough."

Shikamaru frowned. "He did have his bloodline activated…you two were moving so fast I assumed it was to track the fight better." He looked intently at the last Uchiha scion. "I wonder what else he's copied?"

Naruto scowled. "Hmph. Doesn't look like it's going to matter." Gaara had just knocked Sasuke across the ring with a ferocious blast of sand, and now was forming a complete sphere of sand to protect himself. Those with above average sight were able to catch the formation of Gaara's personal jutsu, **Daisan no Me**.

After testing the sphere's integrity a few times, Sasuke glared at the barrier separating him from his opponent before flipping himself up the arena wall and sticking himself there with chakra. He formed three handseals before thrusting his hand downward and concentrated. Chakra was forcibly pulled from his coils and collected in his palm, changing to lightning at Sasuke's command. The assassination jutsu wavered slightly for a moment or two, but Sasuke controlled it. Feeling the point of completion, Sasuke bolted down the wall, handheld electricity trailing behind him, oblivious to the audience's thoughts on his accomplishment. As he reached his target, the last Uchiha thrust his arm forward and roared, "**Chidori**!"

Sasuke smirked as he felt his hand pierce flesh, but his smug expression lasted only a second. The sand surrounding his arm compacted, and Sasuke felt his bones break in several places. The howl of pain from the dark-haired boy seemed to act as a cue, for as soon as it split the air, all hell broke loose.

Most of the audience immediately collapsed, and Baki appeared next to Gaara, a stern look on his face as he scowled at Genma. Naruto followed closely behind. "Your brother and sister are in the infirmary, so I suggest you get there quickly if you want to make sure nothing happens to them," Naruto said in response to Gaara's impassive stare.

Gaara nodded and narrowed his eyes at Baki before they disappeared in a swirl of sand each. "So you're just going to let them go?" Genma asked as another jounin jumped down to take Baki's place.

Naruto nodded as he confronted an invader of his own, covering the medic who was rushing a protesting Sasuke off to safety. From the way his opponent moved, Naruto was glad he deactivated his gravity seal. "Yep. We made a deal. Nobody goes after them and they won't participate in the attack." He shrugged. "It got rid of one of their elite jounin and their secret weapon, didn't it?"

Genma had to concede that point. "Fine." He locked kunai with his opponent, and they struggled for a moment before the Special Jounin spit his senbon directly into the man's eye.

--

Zabuza grinned madly under his mask as his sword decapitated another invader. He hadn't had a chance to cut loose like this since Gato's camp in Wave, and even then, the opponents weren't as skilled as the ones he was facing now. They still weren't enough to cause him constant life-threatening concerns, but they were more than enough to give him some fun.

The stands were cloaked in dense mist of the Demon's making, and the invaders were stupid enough to keep coming after him. They were obviously using the Iwa theory of war: throw enough men at a problem and eventually you'll win. The fault with that plan was that Zabuza doubted Oto and Suna had enough men to properly assault the well warned and prepared Konoha forces.

Zabuza could see Kakashi across the stadium, tearing his way through invaders. He grinned as he thought about the next jounin happy hour. Kakashi didn't always make it over there, but when he did they'd have to compare body counts. They didn't get the opportunity to do so in Wave, like he did with Anko, and he was looking forward to seeing how the legendary ninja stacked up against him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zabuza caught sight of a pair of conscious bodyguards who were simply standing around. A glance at their hitae-ite showed they were from his home village. Sending a nin careening into a wall, Zabuza hopped over to them. They both immediately raised their weapons, but didn't attack him.

"Amateurs," the Demon grunted, turning away from them. If they were just going to defend their daimyo, they were almost useless. Action always beat reaction, so if they weren't going to take any initiative, their daimyo was as good as dead.

At least they recognized him and feared him for it. It was nice to see they still hadn't forgotten about him back home.

--

Kakashi paused as he saw a slender hand melt out from the back of the upper row of stands and slip a kunai in between the ribs of the Oto-nin that was charging him. His implanted eye focused on the seats and he saw beneath the genjutsu there. "Sakura," he said plainly, mildly surprised that she had just killed someone.

Her face was slightly green, but the expression on it was stern. "Kakashi-sensei," she answered, nodding respectfully.

"You probably should be looking for shelter or helping the villagers into the escape tunnels." It was voiced as a suggestion, but it really wasn't one.

She shook her head, taking him by surprise. She had never disputed any of his orders before. "There's too much of a chance that I'd be ambushed by someone I couldn't beat out in the village. And I would only be able to take a small number per trip if I took them from here, not enough to make the distance worth it. They'll be better protected if I stay here to deal with the invaders."

Kakashi was impressed. He had given her a way out of the fighting and she didn't take it, knowing that there was a better than average chance that she'd end up dead staying here. Sakura had obviously come further than he had expected. "Very well. Stick to this area, and play defensive. Don't go out hunting. Most of the invaders are beyond your level."

Her fingers twisted into a set of seals as he finished his last sentence and the nin advancing on his right burst out screaming, his face blistering. He glanced at his student as he slammed a kunai into the enemy's throat. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking what she had done.

"He believed he had been set on fire, and his body was reacting to that," she said clinically, and Kakashi knew she was slipping into a detached state of mind to deal with the battle. Most nin did it; it helped deal with any feelings that might conflict with their job. There was time for guilt later.

--

Naruto slit the throat of his attacker and turned his attention to the pulsing purple barrier atop the Kage box. He knew there had been an explosion there as the attack started, but had been occupied until now. With a few quick bursts of chakra, Naruto launched himself up to the roof of the stadium to get a closer look at what was going on inside the barrier and what was happening to the first man to ever care about him. From the rooftop he was granted a fairly good panoramic of the village. He could see several snakes had just burst through the eastern wall, and was torn with a sudden realization. As much as he wanted to go help the first person the care about him, his village came first.

Naruto made a split decision. Biting both his thumbs, he streaked the blood across his palms. He ran through a quick series of handseals and jumped to the ground. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**!"

Enormous plumes of smoke burst from under him, and the chuunin-hopeful stopped long before he hit the ground. Glaring across the distance, he gave his orders. "Gamaeki, Chairomaru, take out those snakes!"

"With pleasure, Naruto-sama," Chairomaru replied, and Gamaeki simply nodded.

"Keep the collateral damage down as much as possible, and make sure you don't hurt any Konoha forces, got it?"

After receiving affirmative grunts from both summons, Naruto leaped from their backs and started towards his leader.

--

"Shit, it's a fox! The demon brat must have turned on us!" one of the fighting chuunin shouted, staring wide-eyed at the four-tailed fox bounding toward them alongside a giant toad.

"Shut up and keep fighting!" Ibiki ordered, his large fist connecting with a Suna-nin's face and dropping him. One swipe of a kunai made sure he wouldn't be getting back up. "The fox is on our side! Do anything other than aid it and you'll answer to me personally," the Interrogation Head snarled.

"But sir!"

"No! You will do as ordered!"

With a thunderous crash, Gamaeki landed on the snake that was about to snap down on Ibiki's squad, and Chairomaru tore out the throat of the enemy summon a moment later. Two more of the snakes twisted to face the smaller arrivals, and hissed loudly as they saw their brother dead.

A tail tapped Gamaeki on the shoulder and the silent toad turned his attention to Chairomaru. "Oil, at their heads." A brief nod was all the confirmation needed.

As the two snakes charged, they were amused to see a concentrated blast of oil coming their way. Without a flame, the oil techniques of the toad clan were largely ineffective. However, it had been a long time since they had last faced a kitsune, and forgot a very important fact.

"**Kitsune-bi**!"

The ghostly blue flame immediately ignited the toad's oil, and the two snakes were burned severely before disappearing in a dual puff of smoke. With a complex twist of his tails, all the fires set by Chairomaru's attack flickered violently before snuffing out. Another explosion attracted the attention of the toad and fox, and they leapt off after it.

Back with his squad, Ibiki smirked at his underling. "Told you."

--

Gaara stood in the infirmary, arms crossed and looking for all the world like a statue. Rather, he would if not for the still bleeding stab wound on his shoulder. Finally, one of the medics stood up to the Shukaku container.

Baki tried to wave off the black-haired medic, but was roundly ignored by both parties. "Please have a seat so I may take a look at your shoulder, Gaara-san," Haku said politely, a gentle smile on her face.

"My siblings will not go undefended," he stated, not noticing as his sister started in surprise behind him. Kankuro would have, but he was still unconscious.

"They don't have to," Haku reasoned. "However, I must insist that you sit down so that I may examine you. It wouldn't do if your wound became infected."

"I will not leave them," Gaara proclaimed.

"You don't have to," Haku smiled, before gesturing to her aide. "Takashi, please go get Gaara-san a place to sit while I examine him."

The light skinned aide nodded before hurrying off.

"I understand you were wounded by a jutsu?" Haku questioned as she scribbled down a note on her pad.

"Yes," Gaara answered shortly.

"The **Chidori**," Baki supplied helpfully.

Haku's eyes widened in recognition before schooling her features once more. "And just how did you end up on the receiving end of Hatake-san's jutsu?"

"The foolish Uchiha believed it would defeat me. He was wrong."

The ice manipulator grimaced. She had gotten a look at Sasuke's arm before one of the senior medics took over. It wasn't pretty. Sasuke was lucky the arm wasn't completely useless. Even so, the healing process would be lengthy. Tsunade herself would also have to be included on the treatment before all was said and done. "I see. Well, all the more reason for me to help you. It's not every day you survive an assassination jutsu."

Gaara looked directly at her. "Not anymore."

Haku didn't bother hiding her reaction. She half-gasped, half laughed before controlling herself. "I'm sorry to hear that. Well, have a seat." Gaara looked at her sharply, and Haku simply gestured behind him to the chair Takashi had just brought in. Her voice tightened to one of command. "Sit down, Gaara-san."

It took everything Temari and Baki had not to let their jaws drop as they watched Gaara comply.

--

The only reason Naruto wasn't decapitated by an ANBU blade was that his arrival was precipitated by a flying Suna-nin. That made them pause long enough to recognize him as a Konoha loyal. Once Naruto landed, the cloaked elites went back to intently watching their leader fight with Orochimaru.

After a second of this, Naruto spoke up. "What the hell are you all doing? Shouldn't we be trying to take down the barrier?"

The lead ANBU shook his head minutely. "That barrier is one of the most advanced shielding techniques ever invented. We have no way of bringing it down other than to wait."

"Wait for what?"

"For the barrier to be released or for the ones controlling it to run out of chakra. However, those four are marked as the elite of Orochimaru's forces. There's no way we could deplete their chakra and still be able to fight afterwards."

Naruto racked his brain for any information on barriers, and came up with very little. However, one thing stuck out. "If we attack the barrier, it makes them work harder, right? They'd run out of chakra faster?"

"Yes, but as I just said, we would not be able to deplete their chakra and still be able to fight afterwards. And certainly not someone on the level of Orochimaru."

Naruto's face darkened. "Well, you guys just be ready to fight."

Ignoring the shocked body language of squad, Naruto pulled up an enormous amount of chakra. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

Five hundred clones popped into view, surrounding the ominous barrier. In unison, the clones started forming handseals.

"**Katon: Endan**!"

"**Fuuton: Renkuudan**!"

"**Fuuton: Reppushou**!"

"**Suiton: Teppoudama**!"

Hundreds of ninjutsu crashed into the purple flame barrier, making it flicker violently, but it still held. Most of the Naruto clones snarled and started forming more handseals as several others broke off to fight incoming Oto forces. After three more jutsu barrages, the shield abruptly fell. The observers immediately had their attentions focused on the battle-worn form of their Hokage, with a six-armed teen with a broken neck at his feet. Without the supporting corner being controlled by Kidomaru, the barrier failed.

The ANBU leapt into the fight with fervor not usually seen. They knew they would likely die, but Orochimaru had attacked the Hokage, and they would do everything in their power to kill the snake.

Sarutobi panted as he watched his ANBU go after his traitorous student, blades drawn. Orochimaru was holding them off with little difficulty, and with the Kusanagi deployed, it was only a matter of time before they fell.

Sure enough, Orochimaru had gotten enough of a break to run through five handseals and released a concussive blast of air that knocked back all his attackers.

'_That damn brat,'_ Orochimaru thought harshly. _'I'll have to play it safe and conserve my chakra with the barrier down.'_ "**Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei**!"

Sarutobi watched in horror as twin coffins rose up from the ground, marked with the kanji for 'one' and 'two'. The doors fell away and the Sandaime found himself facing his teachers and predecessors.

"It's been a long time, eh, monkey?" the Nidaime joked.

"You've gotten old, haven't you, Sarutobi?" the Shodaime greeted.

"I didn't wish to meet you again on this plane of existence," Sarutobi said gravely. "It is regrettable…prepare to depart for the afterlife once more."

"**Edo Tensei**, huh? I suppose we won't have a pleasant reunion then," the Nidaime grimaced.

"Looks like we'll be on opposite sides for once, Sarutobi," the Shodaime frowned.

"Enough idle chatter," Orochimaru snapped. Two tagged kunai were produced and seemed to melt into the back of the dead Hokage's heads. Their eyes went glassy and unfocused as they fell under the control of Konoha's most famous criminal.

The six ANBU had regained their bearings and were intent on protecting their leader, even if it was from his old teachers. They drew their blades once more and charged their new enemies.

Meanwhile, Naruto finished setting up his plan. All the clones that remained after the barrier fell darted in to stall the resurrected Kages. They stood absolutely no chance, and were even less than cannon fodder, but they would do their job. Clouds of smoke were appearing every few seconds, but the Shodaime and Nidaime were being delayed as long as it took to take out the never-ending wave of clones.

Orochimaru sneered as he saw the blonde duplicates enter the fight. There was no hope for him to find the original in that crowd, and he had to keep his attention on Sarutobi. He dodged under the recently summoned staff form of the monkey boss, backing up to keep distance. He tossed a few token kunai and almost smiled as he saw a clone disappear from one of them.

Sarutobi pressed his attack against Orochimaru, striking quickly with his transformed staff. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Orochimaru's remaining three guards moving in to flank him. He spun his staff, knocking them back, and was surprised as a hand shot out of the chest of the grey-haired one in an attempt to grab Enma. It failed, but it reminded Sarutobi that he wasn't fighting normal everyday shinobi.

Tayuya, Jiroubou, Sakon and Ukon felt the familiar pain stretch across their skin as their curse seals activated. They moved in to try and take down the old man, but they were too young to know the true danger of the aged ninja before them.

Sarutobi was known as the Professor because he knew all the jutsu in Konoha that weren't specifically affiliated with a clan. However, that wasn't his only name. Due to his mastery of ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu and unyielding battlefield presence, Sarutobi was described as the God of Shinobi. In his prime, he was able to single-handedly hold off the complete forces of Hidden Bluffs, now a dead village, and once defeated Hanzo the Salamander.

Even in his advanced age, he was a terribly fierce combatant, and as Orochimaru's personal guard moved in, he proved that. The butt of Enma's staff form slammed into Tayuya's stomach at a blinding speed, cracking several ribs. Another swing left Sakon cradling a broken arm. Jiroubou quickly fell to the ground, unconscious.

Orochimaru gritted his teeth as his ninja fell to his former sensei. He had been counting on Sarutobi's age taking away some of his former skill. It looked like the old man wasn't as out of shape as he hoped.

Kusanagi clanged off of Enma's staff form in a shower of sparks, but there was no visible damage to the staff. Kusanagi was supposed to be able to cut through anything, but Enma's staff form was supposed to be unbreakable. Now it was just a question of which legendary weapon would live up to its reputation.

Three Naruto clones charged the Shodaime, dispersing quickly as the Kage struck them, but the delay was enough for a crow-masked ANBU to slip an explosive tag on his leg.

BOOM!

The explosion was enough to kick up dust and obscure everyone's vision for a moment. When the air cleared, a legless Shodaime was the sight that greeted them. The remaining Naruto clones (few that they were) cheered at the sight, only to groan in unison as the dust and ashes reformed the leg good as new.

The roof was littered with trees and cages of wood, along with water deposits left behind by the Nidaime's techniques. The Naruto clones were nothing more than a nuisance at this point, but did allow for the ANBU members to set up attacks more readily.

Wounds on the two brothers were healed as quickly as they were inflicted, and every failed killing blow disheartened the fighters just a little more. Two of the ANBU were dead, one speared by a tree and the other pulverized by an intense blast of water. Only fifty Naruto clones remained, and their number was dwindling rapidly.

Orochimaru grimaced as his arms shook from the force of yet another one of Sarutobi's staff strikes. Enma's staff form was giving no quarter and Kusanagi had yet to do anything other than cosmetic damage to it. Another blow only confirmed the snake's suspicions. He wouldn't be able to win this battle. His old sensei was too strong.

Orochimaru had known he would win if everything went to plan. Sarutobi would be locked away from all help, on his own against the former leaders of Konoha and himself. There was no way he would be able to win against that force.

Then everything fell apart. The blonde brat's attacks broke Kidomaru's concentration and forced the six-armed nin to drop the secondary barrier, allowing Sarutobi to kill him, breaking the entire thing. With the added reinforcements, Orochimaru was forced to conserve his chakra, and could only summon two of the former Kages. Summoning the Yondaime would have most likely won the battle, but it would have left him incapacitated and protected only by the rest of his guard. After witnessing Sarutobi effortlessly take them apart, it was a good thing he didn't choose that path.

Even with just the two brothers it should have been enough to beat the old man. But with the ANBU holding their attention, Orochimaru was on his own. And he was failing.

His decision was made. "You have won this round, _sensei_, but you have by no means won the war. Tayuya, Jiroubou, Sakon, we retreat."

The now conscious Oto-nin nodded and sped away into the trees, leaving Orochimaru to sneer at Sarutobi once more. "You may follow me, but if you do, your village will be decimated. There will be no one left to defeat my slaves if you leave." Sarutobi's eyes flicked over to see the last of his ANBU fall to one of the Shodaime's strikes, and no Naruto clones left. When he looked back, his former student was gone.

Sarutobi resigned himself as he created a **Kage Bunshin** and started the seal set for his final jutsu. However, it seemed he wouldn't be able to finish as his resurrected teachers charged him, poised for killing strikes, and at their speed, they would reach him long before he finished.

He closed his eyes as he saw the inevitable coming. Only it never came. He cracked one eye and saw Naruto spitted on the Shodaime's wooden blade, and the Nidaime being restrained by Enma, back in his monkey form.

The skewered Naruto locked his hands on the Shodaime's blade, not allowing it to be pulled out. He turned to look at the aged Hokage and smiled ruefully. "Sorry, oji-san."

Ten Naruto clones hopped out from their hiding places and piled onto the restrained Hokages, five to each brother. "**Bunshin Daibakuha**!" one shouted, and Sarutobi was blown far away by the shockwave.

Sarutobi's vision wavered as he stood on shaking legs. But he wasn't about to do anything else until he knew Naruto's condition.

He knew it was useless. Naruto had just been caught in an explosion that had just completely destroyed the dead Hokages. He was just glad they didn't seem to be regenerating once more. Though it made sense. There was nothing left of them. There was also no reason to believe Naruto would have survived either. Except that Naruto made a point of doing the impossible all the time.

In the crater formed by the explosion, Sarutobi's eyes leaked as he found the boy he considered a grandson. Naruto was in his 'natural' form, in more ways than one. His tails were splayed out underneath him, and not a stitch of clothing had survived to preserve Naruto's dignity. Blood flowed from too many wounds, and burns covered a good deal of the blonde's body.

Ignoring the strain it placed on his body, Sarutobi activated the **Shunshin**, and appeared in the infirmary. "Tsunade!" he shouted, and saw the beautiful woman stick her head out from behind a curtain.

"What?" she demanded, ill tempered. Sarutobi stalked over and entered the curtain, seeing the Uchiha boy's arm in the process of being treated.

Tsunade's eyes widened as she realized just how damaged her sensei was, but Sarutobi simply waved her attention off. "Will he survive if you leave?" he asked.

She looked back at the black-haired patient. "Yes, it's not life-threatening. But I'm not about to leave in the middle of an operation."

"Yes you are." Sarutobi made to leave.

"What?"

"He'll live. Naruto won't."


	13. Chapter 13

Tsunade and Shizune worked tirelessly to heal Naruto throughout the day and night. Haku wanted to be included but was needed elsewhere, healing the other casualties. The various members of Naruto's strange family made for an odd sight as they waited anxiously for any word of their blonde's condition. Even Gaara wanted to know, though almost everyone kept their distance from the former insomniac. Temari and Kankuro had also been released and stayed close to Gaara. Though no one was quite sure if it was out of concern for Naruto, a show of solidarity with their brother, or if they just didn't want to be caught alone in the village.

Thirteen hours after starting, a weary Shizune emerged from surgery and sighed at the look of hope on everyone's awaiting faces. She said just two words. "He'll survive."

The room seemed to expand from the combined force of the occupant's relieved sighs. Shizune looked like she was going to continue but was interrupted when Tsunade entered the waiting area, her eyes closed in exhaustion and remembered pain. The memories of her brother's and lover's mutilated corpses were fresh in her mind after Naruto's brush with death. "He'll live, but it was an iffy proposition for a while. We had to restart his heart three times as it was, and he was suffering a severe case of chakra exhaustion, something we never really thought was possible for him. Fortunately, with his tenant's help, we have him stabilized."

Tsunade sagged. "However, even with his enhanced healing, it's not likely that he'll wake up for at least two weeks, probably longer. Of course, this is all just guesswork at this point, because we're in unknown waters."

"But you're the Legendary Tsunade, the world's greatest medic-nin," Tenten protested. "How can you not know?"

Tsunade pinned her with a hard glare. "Because, Naruto isn't like any case anyone has ever seen before. Because Naruto shouldn't be alive right now. Because Naruto shouldn't even be in one piece right now. Because despite his usual appearance, Naruto has never been a normal human even under the lightest definitions. Because while I may be a great medic-nin, I am trained in healing humans, and Naruto is no longer one."

A stifled gasp drew everyone's attention to the Sand Siblings and their sensei. Their presence had been forgotten, and now they knew what was likely one of the biggest secrets on the continent. Sarutobi summed up their thoughts neatly. He smacked his face into his palms.

"We will not divulge Naruto's status as anything other than human to anyone," Gaara stated at everyone's varied looks. Tsunade couldn't believe she had made such an amateur mistake. Apparently, she was more exhausted than she thought she was. Ibiki's thoughts were racing with ways to ensure their silence. Anko was doing the same thing, but was openly smiling at the nasty turn her thoughts had taken. Sarutobi, after thinking about how Naruto would feel about his secret being discovered, considered the political ramifications if the information got out. He wasn't necessarily proud that that was where his mind went all too quickly, but after being Hokage for so many years, it did.

"And how do we know you won't just tell your village once you get back?"

"I was to be a tool of war for my village," Gaara said calmly. "I will longer be commanded. I will not tell my village of Uzumaki's secret. Neither will my siblings or Baki."

"Your leader could order you to reveal everything you know," Ibiki pointed out.

"My father is dead. Orochimaru would not have been able to impersonate him if he was alive. He was the only one with the authority to issue the command you speak of. Even if he have done so, I would have fed him to the desert."

Chouji and Ino winced at the words, but no one else showed any visible reaction. Baki, Temari, and Kankuro aren't even slightly fazed by Gaara's proclamation, as all three of them knew what kind of man the Yondaime Kazekage was in life, and as such, were not likely to defend him in death.

"The only people who would not meet the same fate just learned the secret, so there is no problem."

"How do we know they won't tell your village?"

"The same way I know you won't kill me and my family right now."

"This is a very bad solution," Sarutobi pointed out.

"It is the one we have," Gaara responded. "It is also not your secret. It is Uzumaki's."

Sarutobi knew the redhead had a very good point. Technically, all of Konoha's secrets were the Hokage's secret, but Naruto's status as anything other than a jinchuuriki wasn't one of Konoha's secrets. It wasn't written down anywhere, like all of Konoha's official secrets (though those that were tended to be hidden behind seal protected vaults and guarded by several jounin at any particular time). Since it wasn't 'on the books', there was absolutely no law or rule that enforced any kind of punishment for this secret, beyond what Naruto's friends and family would do to the person who found it out and sought to use it against him.

"You do not trust us," Gaara said finally, breaking the silence that had fallen with his last statement. "That is understandable. You will not believe I will keep my word without some kind of compensation. With this the case, my compensation is a fair treaty between our villages."

"What are you talking about?" Ino asked. "Your village just invaded us!"

"That means nothing. My village will lose support from the other major villages due to their role in the attack, and Konoha has enough enemies that would take advantage of your current weakened state. Without allying our villages, neither of us will survive. Again, my compensation is a fair treaty between our villages."

For his part, Sarutobi was flabbergasted. Gaara had just blown all the unwritten rules of negotiation out of the water. He had just stated all the ramifications that no one was supposed to say out loud, and didn't look the least bit sorry. In the back of his mind, Sarutobi wished he could do that. It would certainly put the Council of Elders in their place.

However, pulling that off would probably require killing a large amount of influential people, and Sarutobi couldn't decide if that would solve his problems or simply create more.

"That will be difficult to arrange with the council, but I will do my best."

"Acceptable, for now."

--

Sarutobi knew he was going to have a problem to deal with the moment he learned Naruto had summoned a four-story fox to fight Orochimaru's summons. But that didn't stop him from wanting to walk into the council room and execute every single one of them. And he'd do it in a heartbeat if it wouldn't cause so much strife amongst the clans, not to mention the additional paperwork it would generate.

Fortunately, he had Tsunade and Jiraiya with him. They weren't necessarily the best politicians, but they could definitely look pretty damn scary when they needed to. Plus they could probably get away with smacking around the people he couldn't.

Pushing open the doors to the council meeting room, Sarutobi was pleased to note that his presence still afforded him the respect he had earned, as the chamber went silent. "What is the reason you have called me here today?" he demanded sternly. "I have more important things to do, such as rebuild my village."

"Hokage-sama, we implore you to execute the demon before it grows any more powerful," Koharu started.

"Choose your words carefully, Koharu, for they may be the last you ever say," the Hokage promised gravely.

"It is growing too strong, Hokage-sama," she said through gritted teeth. "Why can't you see that? It will destroy us all!"

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and studied the crowded room. The entire council had been called, the Elder Council, the Shinobi Council, and the Civilian Council. The old man made his decision. "If you are not a member of the Elder or Shinobi Councils, get out," he ordered.

Several of the merchants immediately raised protests, but Sarutobi quieted them with a brief burst of mild killing intent. "Contrary to what you may wish to believe, the Civilian Council is not required at this meeting. We are discussing the fate of one of my ninjas, something you have no say over. Get out, and go help with the reconstruction, before I have you arrested for treason."

Several of the civilians grumbled, but when Jiraiya and Tsunade shifted slightly, they picked up the pace and soon the room was much less crowded. "Now, what do you have to convince me to take your suggested course of action?"

"It released a giant fox upon our village, Hokage-sama! What more proof do you need?"

"According to one of my personal ANBU agents, Naruto summoned both the fox and a toad for the express purpose of battling the snake summons Orochimaru unleashed. Without their help, damage to the village would be far greater than it is. Jiraiya was the only one able to combat the summons, especially so many at once. With Naruto's additions, my ninja were able to concentrate their efforts on the human invaders, rather than try to defend against the giant snakes, further reducing the lives lost yesterday."

Hiashi spoke up. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, the boy has shown a level of power that is frightening for his age, and a disregard for mercy that is disturbing. He attempted to drop a summoned toad on his opponent, a fellow Konoha genin, something that was entirely unnecessary."

"Are you saying one of my most famous attacks is unnecessary?" Jiraiya asked pointedly.

"Not at all, merely that it was inappropriate in the way it was used. Such irresponsibility is dangerous."

"Hiashi-san, what is the purpose of holding the final round of the exams as a public tournament? Is it not so that we may promote the strength of our upcoming ninja?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Is it not so that we may impress future clients that our village is the strongest and therefore the best to hire?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Then wouldn't it be a good idea to show off the fact that we now have a genin who is so much stronger than any in the other village? And able to summon? That is something that would most certainly impress most of our clients, correct? You know that the main purpose of the exams was never to promote genin, but to show our strength. You seem to be forgetting what is best for Konoha."

"Hokage-sama, I must protest," Koharu spoke again. "Perhaps it was beneficial to Konoha for the spectators to see our strength, but you must agree that it is too powerful to be allowed to continue living."

"If you wish to kill the strongest up and coming ninja our village has, so be it." An ANBU appeared in front of the Hokage, kneeling. "Bring me the heads Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, and Aburame Shino."

The council erupted before the ANBU could move, but a discreet motion from Sarutobi cancelled the order, and the ANBU disappeared.

"What is the meaning of this, Sarutobi? Are you trying to destroy the future of our village?"

"No," Sarutobi responded coldly. "You are. You clearly want to make sure that we are doomed. I'm merely helping. Uchiha Sasuke is widely reported to be stronger than Naruto, so if Naruto is too powerful to let live, surely Sasuke is also. Hyuuga Neji is said to have the most powerful incarnation of his bloodline in a century; that must be stamped out, less he follow Uchiha Itachi's example. And with their performances yesterday, Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru would be devastating if they turned on us. We will simply exterminate them before that happens. Just to be sure."

"You've obviously been corrupted by the demon, Sarutobi," Danzo accused, "if you're suggesting that."

"I have been far from corrupted, Danzo, but you seemed to have gone senile in your old age. For you seem to believe that you have been able to hide your activities from me. For commanding an illegal group in the time of war, you are charged with treason. The sentence is death, and will be carried out immediately."

Danzo's face twisted in anger and a move of his one remaining arm called in two black cloaked ninja from their hiding places. But before they could take the first steps in following Danzo's orders, they collapsed, one with his chest caved in, the other missing his head.

Only the most experienced ninja were able to see the motion clearly as their old sensei took his opportunity and let fly a kunai that pierced Danzo's remaining eye before lodging itself in the war hawk's brain, killing him instantly.

"You've obviously forgotten why I was chosen over you, Danzo," he said quietly, offering a moment of silence for a fallen comrade, even if they were often on opposing sides. Sarutobi addressed the rest of the council.

"For too long I have let this council run roughshod over my village. You will find in the future that I will not be so agreeable. The Hokage is the leader of this village, and you will respect that. Uzumaki Naruto is not the demon fox. Both Jiraiya and I have inspected the seal that contains the Kyuubi, and it is exactly as it should be. Furthermore, if there are any more attempts on Naruto's life by this council or any of its members, I will personally kill the offender. That boy saved my life and the lives of most of Konoha yesterday, and did so at the cost of his own life. It is only because of Tsunade's expertise that his death was not permanent."

"Hokage-sama, what do you mean by saying that Naruto saved your life?" Akimichi Choza asked. "Not to disparage the boy's skill, but I fail to see any situation where he would be able to defeat anything that would place you in life-threatening danger," he quickly clarified.

"So that you all will know the strength of Naruto's true character, I will tell you. Orochimaru perverted the memory of the Shodaime and the Nidaime through the use of a kinjutsu. He summoned their souls back from the dead and forced them to submit to his control. Naruto had created a mass of clones and used those to fight alongside my ANBU to delay the Shodaime and Nidaime while I forced Orochimaru and his guards into a retreat. Even with far superior numbers, Naruto's clones and my six ANBU were no match for the summoned shades of our former leaders. The ANBU and clones fell just as Orochimaru fled. Once I noticed that there was no way to beat the Shodaime and Nidaime, as they regenerated all damage done to them instantly, I readied the one technique that I knew would stop them, and protect the village. In order to stop them, I readied the **Shiki Fuuin**, which would seal their souls away, and would stop them forever. Before I could finish the jutsu, Enma and the real Naruto took hold of the Shodaime and Nidaime, stopping them momentarily. Naruto apologized for what he was about to do, and used nearly a dozen exploding clones to utterly destroy the false bodies created by Orochimaru.

"I ask you, how many are willing to sacrifice their lives for something? I don't mean die in the course of a mission, as all ninja take that responsibility, but how many do you know would willingly lay down their life in order for others? How many would willingly walk into a situation where they knew they would die, all for people who hate their very existence? There are precious few, and Naruto is counted among their number. And no matter how much you may wish to delude yourself, there is no way you could construe those actions as those of a demon."

Sarutobi removed the restrains on his killing intent, allowing it to permeate the chamber. "And if by some obscure possibility you do, and feel the need to act upon those feelings, know that you will make enemies of me and my students," he promised in a low voice, indicating Tsunade and Jiraiya. "Not to mention any others whose lives Naruto has touched."

"Very well," Homura agreed. "No action will be taken by this council towards the Uzumaki boy. Let it be known that any action taken towards him will be independent of this council, and will be punished accordingly."

Homura knew he would lose if he went up against his former teammate. Sarutobi had always been stronger than him, and the Hokage also had deeper political connections than him, something very few anywhere on the continent could boast. While he didn't feel the same way towards the Uzumaki boy as many of the other council members did, he certainly did not view the container the same way as Sarutobi.

Barring the boy's extermination to make sure no one could use the power of the Kyuubi against them, Homura felt that Uzumaki would have served best if he had been turned into a weapon for the village. But he knew that wish was mostly a pipe dream at this point, especially with Danzo's body currently cooling not ten feet from him.

But at this point in time, it seemed it would be best to have an ally in this Uzumaki. Homura's reports said that the boy would do anything to protect those close to him, and if his latest action was to be interpreted correctly, up to and including sacrificing his own life. That kind of loyalty would be invaluable.

Weapons misfired. Loyalty was something that lasted.

--

Zabuza, Anko, Kurenai and Asuma walked through the market district, laughing and having a good time. Ibiki had kept his word and Zabuza had gotten a date with Anko. It probably wasn't the best time to start dating, but it kept their minds off the still-comatose Naruto. Of course, to keep things fun, Anko had gotten Kurenai to bring Asuma to make it a double date. Anko ignored the fact that the two constantly claimed that they weren't dating, as even Naruto, widely known as the most clueless male in all of Konoha, was able to see that the two worked well together.

Anko subdued her laughter long enough to get the punch line out. "…And then, the farmer says, 'That's no goat, that's my wife!'"

The group erupted into laughter once again as they turned into a tea shop, barely noticing as the pair by the door signaled for their check. A minute after the cloaked duo left, the quartet followed. A hop, skip, and a jump later, and they were in front of the cloaked men, next to a river.

"I've only heard rumors of the group of missing-nin that wear black cloaks with red clouds," Zabuza said. "The missing-nin who hunt Biju. Though I shouldn't be surprised you're a member, Hoshigaki Kisame."

The shark-like man removed his hat with a grin. "Well, if it isn't little Zabuza. I never would have thought to find you here, in Konoha of all places. Give up on your plans to rule the Mist?"

"I have other things to do. More important things."

"Well, now that we're caught up, why don't you tell me and my partner where the Kyuubi is and we'll be on our way."

"And just who is your partner?" Asuma asked around his cigarette, trench knives ready.

The shorter of the Akatsuki pair slowly lifted his hand to remove his hat and looked at the quartet through a fully mature **Sharingan**. "Uchiha Itachi," the S-ranked criminal said tonelessly.

At an unknown signal, the sextet burst into action simultaneously. Kurenai twisted into nothingness, Anko locked kunai with Itachi, Asuma started a sequence of handseals, and Zabuza locked blades with Kisame.

Even as Itachi steadily forced Anko's kunai back, tree roots emerged from the ground to wrap around his ankles, quickly working their way up his body before completely ensnaring his entirely. Kurenai melted out of the tree, and quickly slit Itachi's throat, only to blink in surprise as she found herself trapped by the same genjutsu she had just cast. Before Itachi could kill her, a large amount of ash filled the air, followed by the sharp click. The ash immediately burst into flame, forcing everyone apart.

Anko concealed herself in the nearby trees, and Asuma quickly rushed to Kurenai's aid, extinguishing the smoldering portions of her dress. Itachi concealed his irritation as he watched Kisame and Zabuza face off on the river.

The two master swordsmen fell into an impossible rhythm as their blades crashed against one another over and over and over. Neither man gave any quarter nor asked for it. Thirty seconds later, they sprang apart, not winded but both covered in shallow cuts.

"You've gotten better, Little Demon," Kisame said. "Before the rebellion, you would never have lasted this long against me."

"And you must have slacked off if you're this slow," Zabuza smirked. Then his face grew stern. "You said you were looking for the Kyuubi, didn't you? That means you're looking for Naruto."

"Uzumaki Naruto," Itachi said. "That is the name of the Kyuubi's vessel. Where is he?"

"It won't do you any good to know," Zabuza said quickly. "Do you really think Konoha would really let you steal him right out from under their nose? Even the two of you would fall against all of Konoha, especially with Jiraiya and Tsunade in the village. And on top of that, Kisame, you wouldn't be able to help."

"What?" the shark-man snarled.

"I, Momochi Zabuza, member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, hereby formally state that Uzumaki Naruto has my protection. You can't touch him."

Kisame growled, but quickly relented. "I, Hoshigaki Kisame, member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, hereby recognize that Uzumaki Naruto has your protection. I will not harm him."

"Kisame." Itachi's tone brooked no argument.

Kisame cut his eyes over to his partner. "I'm still free to go after the other Biju, but I can't take any action against the Uzumaki brat. If I do, I'll lose my honor as one of the Seven Swordsmen, and once word got out, the other six would be after my head."

A miniscule sigh escaped Itachi's lips, and his eyebrows creased imperceptivity. "Very well. It seems our trip has been for naught. We shall retreat and you shall inform Leader of the reason we failed to retrieve the Kyuubi."

Without any further words, Itachi exploded. In the plume of water that followed, Kisame disappeared, vanishing from the quartet's senses before they could react. Anko jumped out of the foliage and looked at the others grimly. "We need to report this to Hokage-sama."

--

"They were gone before we could do anything to track them," Asuma wrapped up. "And honestly, I'm not sure we would have been able to take them down even if we were able to catch up."

The Hokage steepled his fingers. "I see. You were right not to chase them. It's possible you might have killed them, but Konoha cannot afford to lose you at the moment, not so soon after the invasion. Though it does prove that Akatsuki is moving again. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You are dismissed."

Kurenai, Asuma, Anko, and Zabuza disappeared in identical clouds of smoke, and the Hokage pushed his way out of his chair, making his way slowly over to the window overlooking Konoha. _'Naruto, how much more trouble will find you?'_

--

A day's travel from Konoha, Itachi and Kisame sank into a meditative state, opening their eyes to find their astral bodies in a dark cave, the Leader's eyes peering down at them. "Why are you reporting? You do not have the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi is still in Konoha, Leader-sama, but our team can no longer retrieve it," Itachi explained.

"Why not? There are few in the Leaf able to challenge your power."

"One of my old teammates is now a Konoha nin," Kisame explained. "He has placed the Kyuubi under his protection as a member of the Seven Swordsmen. I can no longer touch him."

"What are the terms of this protection? The Seven Swordsmen have existed since before the Hidden Villages, too long for a conflict of interest not to have arisen."

Kisame nodded. "I'm unable to harm the Kyuubi unless it is in defense of my own life, though I am under no obligation to protect it from harm. This means while I won't be able to be involved in sealing the Kyuubi away, I don't have to do anything to stop the rest of our group from doing so. If I break this, I will be cast from the Seven Swordsmen and the others will immediately be after my head. Even though I am the strongest of the Seven, I couldn't stand against the rest by myself."

The Leader waved a hand. "Very well. Contact Sasori and Deidara. Kisame will now be partnered with Deidara and Sasori will join Itachi. Kisame and Deidara will go after the Ichibi while Itachi and Sasori will continue after the Kyuubi. Do not fail me again."

The Leader's eyes winked out of existence, and the astral duo felt a rushing feeling as their spirits were drawn back to their bodies.

--

Three countries away, the Leader of Akatsuki opened his eyes. "Kisame has been reassigned," he said without preamble.

"Why?" Konan asked. "I thought it was decided that Kisame and Itachi would be the best ones to acquire the Kyuubi after my attempt with the **Shouten no Jutsu** failed several months ago."

"One of the Rites of the Seven Swordsmen has been used to protect the Kyuubi. It is no matter. They will all fall. And then we will be gods."

"Yes, Pein-sama."

--

Two and a half weeks later, Haku walked into Naruto's room, fully expecting to follow the same routine she had developed. She would enter, look over at his unconscious form and sigh before administering his medications. She would check to make sure nothing had happened to make him worse and then kiss his forehead once before leaving to continue her rounds.

Instead, she looked over, met fierce red-slitted eyes, and dropped the tray while stifling a small scream. "N-Naruto-kun?" she asked, her hand still covering her mouth.

He groaned softly, before giving her a pained smile. "I must not be dead, cause you're here and Heaven wouldn't hurt this much."

Haku's brain kicked back in gear, just in time to recognize Naruto's eyes slide close again. "Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" she cried, sticking her head out of the room. "Tsunade-sama, he's awake!"

"Only 'cause you keep yelling," Naruto murmured, though Haku didn't hear him.

The busty blonde healer burst into the room, followed closely by Shizune. "Naruto, can you hear me? Are you awake?"

"Not really by choice," was the moaned response.

"I need you to stay awake, at least until I'm done," Tsunade ordered. "Where does it hurt the most? Do you have any areas of numbness?"

"Everything hurts. I blew myself up, if I remember correctly."

"At least you remember the hair brained stunt that got you in here. And if it hadn't worked, you wouldn't have woken up."

"Yeah, well if I'm awake, it means it worked. It did work, right? The old man is okay?"

Tsunade sighed. "Yes, Sarutobi-sensei is fine. He has recovered from his fight with Orochimaru and is now running the village like he's supposed to. You're lucky he wasn't caught in the blast of your explosion. Fortunately, it completely destroyed the bodies of my grandfather and grand-uncle, so they couldn't regenerate anymore."

Naruto let out a pained whine. "Sorry Baa-chan, I had completely forgotten they were related to you. I didn't really want to kill them like that."

"If it makes you feel any better, you didn't kill them; you just let their stolen souls go back to the afterlife." As she reassured the boy who had firmly implanted himself in her life, without even giving her a choice in the matter, her hands glided over his body, easily diagnosing him. Consciousness seemed to be the only real change in his condition.

"We can start you on some more intensive healing techniques now that you're awake, which should get you back on your feet quicker."

The three female medics looked over Naruto for another half an hour, healing what they could now that they had Naruto's feedback to guide them. Finally, Tsunade stood and stretched. "Well brat, you'll be happy to know that you'll probably only need to be in here for another week or so, maybe two at the most. After that, you can go back to some light, supervised training until I'm satisfied you're not going to fall apart."

The busty medic narrowed her eyes. "And if you ever, _ever_, try something like what you pulled on the roof again, I'll rip out your spleen through your armpit, and shove it back in through your nose."

Naruto nodded fervently.

Tsunade seemed satisfied with that and quickly left, Shizune hot on her heels. Haku watched them go before turning back to the blonde hanyou. She smiled softly. "Naruto-kun…" she breathed. Then next thing Naruto knew, his arms were full of shuddering medic.

He rubbed her back gently, ignoring the pain her weight was causing him. "Hey, it's okay, calm down. Stop crying."

"You fool, you stupid, stupid fool…"

Naruto let out a long breath and just held the black-haired beauty until she was spent. "Are you better now?" he asked quietly.

Haku quickly cleared her face of the remaining traces of her breakdown. She nodded silently. "I'm sorry for doing that again, Naruto-kun. First back in the forest, and now here…"

Naruto smiles lazily. "Hey, no one expects you to keep it inside all the time. Baa-chan drinks a lot, Ero-Sennin peeps, Kakashi-sensei reads porn, I pull pranks…everyone has a release. You just seem to cry on my chest when I almost die. Anko did the same thing when I got hurt in the Forest. Course she hits me a lot too, but I'm kinda glad you don't do that. Especially considering how I feel right now."

"Still, I should have better control over my emotions. I'm a better kunoichi than that."

Naruto poked Haku's stomach. "Hey." He poked her again. "You're one of the best kunoichi I know. And if you weren't like you are, you wouldn't be the girl I like."

"You really like me?" she smiled.

"Of course I do!" he said indignantly. "What made you think I didn't?"

"It has been a long time since we've seen each other. We didn't get to see each other at all during the time between the prelims and the finals, and you've been unconscious for the past three weeks."

Naruto grinned and reached up, rubbing Haku's cheek gently. "I kind of remember something from the forest that should have cut out those kind of doubts. Or do you need a reminder?"

Haku let loose a stray giggle before bending over. "Oh Naruto-kun," she sighed, shaking her head at his foolishness.

She pressed her lips to his and was glad he couldn't see her blush. They stayed there, exchanging shy kisses for the next few minutes. Finally, Haku pushed herself up and nodded, her face red.

Naruto's face was crimson and he was grinning like a maniac. "That was a lot better than anything else I've had from this place." He tried to turn his face serious and his voice took a tone of mock-sternness. "But no one else gets that treatment, alright? And I think I'll need another dose later."

Haku shook her head good-naturedly. "I'll be around later, Naruto-kun. Try to get some rest."

Naruto yawned. "Yeah, for having slept for three weeks, I'm really tired."

Haku brushed her lips across his cheek and left the room, wearing a permanent smile and a blush.

--

"Kakashi!" Yuugao called from across the jounin lounge. "I need to have a word with you."

"Yes, Yuugao-san?" the dog-summoner lifted a lazy eye from his book.

"We need to discuss Haruno Sakura."

Kakashi quirked his eyebrow at the mention of his student, but nodded nonetheless. "What about her? I know you've been giving her some supplemental training."

"I would like to take her on as an apprentice, and as her official teacher, I need you to release her from your training."

"Hmm. What brought this on? It was my understanding you were just giving her some pointers on her genjutsu. Not that it hasn't helped. She's advanced quite well in that area."

"I've been doing a bit more than that."

"Poaching my student?"

"You would have to teach her something for her to be your student. It's been a while since you've done that. Not since you gave her that scroll of genjutsu."

"She's been at the team meetings we've had since the exams ended, and been on the clean up missions assigned to our team. If she wanted more training, she should have come to me and asked."

"She shouldn't have had to ask, you were her teacher."

"Yuugao-san, this is a trying time for all of us. I am on call for high-ranking missions at all times, so I don't have the time to teach I did before the exams. I don't want to teach her or Sasuke something only halfway before I am called away, and then come back to find that they have injured themselves. Once the village is settled down more, I will be able to train my team more efficiently. Either way, I haven't released her, so she is still under my command."

Yuugao frowned. "Only on paper. She's been my student for six weeks. The only reason you have any claim over her is because I haven't filed the papers yet. I wanted to be polite and ask you, because of your record and because I thought you might have your reasons, but I will have Sakura as my apprentice. She has too much talent to let go to waste because you're too concerned with your other student."

"I train all my students to the levels they are ready for."

"Perhaps if you pushed a little harder, they would be farther along than they are. Sakura likely would have made it to the chuunin finals if you had tried something other than improving her already excellent chakra control. She had enough control to learn any genin level technique out there. Why were you having her run up trees when you could have taught her some attack ninjutsu that would build her reserves? Here I thought that was standard practice. Once the basics are mastered, move on to the more complex drills. She's my student now Hatake, whether you want her to be or not."

Yuugao smirked sarcastically. "And look on the bright side. Now you'll be able concentrate on your other student."

Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. "You're crossing lines, Yuugao-san," he said, all traces of his former genial tone gone, and a potent killing intent in its place. Yuugao had no problems believing that this was the man who destroyed a complete Kumo ANBU squad, cutting through their famous lightning jutsu with his famed technique, and not the burnt out ninja surviving on past victories as the rumors made him out to be. "I'll sign the forms, because Konoha needs every ninja it can manage as strong as possible, and because I have been planning on withdrawing as a jounin instructor for the moment anyway, so that I can be of more direct service to Konoha. The next time you want something, it would be to your benefit if you tried being a bit sweeter in your request." Before her eyes, Hatake Kakashi was back to the persona everyone knew, a bright orange book in his hand, a lazy eye scanning the pages. "Someone else might not take it so well," he finished with a smile she could hear in his voice, and a half-hearted wave in her direction as he walked off.

--

Yuugao handed Sakura a sheaf of papers and stood back while her student looked them over with a practiced eye. Thirty seconds later Sakura looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Um, Yuugao-sensei, I know that I've been training with you more and more lately, and I really appreciate it, but this schedule will almost completely cut out any time I have to train with Kakashi-sensei and my team."

Yuugao just motioned for her to keep reading.

Sakura turned confused eyes down to the papers again, looking up after another minute. "Are you serious about this?"

"The paperwork has already been filed."

Sakura's face split in a wide smile. "Thank you Yuugao-shishou! Thank you so much!"

Sakura tackled her around the middle, squeezing tightly. Yuugao had half-expected some protests about not being able to see Sasuke on a daily basis, but she knew what Sakura was likely thinking.

Apprenticeship was not a normal thing, not by any means. It was certainly common enough that everyone knew about it as there were a few every generation. But apprenticeships were usually only offered to those who were from ninja clans, and recognized as extremely talented. For Sakura, a civilian-born kunoichi only a few months out of the academy, to be offered one was likely to be one of the biggest accomplishments of her life. Sasuke was probably pretty far from her thoughts at the moment. Which was a good thing. Sakura needed to be rid of that obsession as soon as possible. And Yuugao would help her with it.

Even if it meant working Sakura so hard she couldn't think, much less obsess over the boy.

--

Naruto hissed as he fell back against the bed once more. He had been trying to get out of the bed for the past half hour with no luck. Haku, Tsunade, and Shizune were the only hospital staff allowed to care for him, but they were obviously elsewhere. So that meant he was stuck trying to get himself over to the bathroom on his own.

The door opened, and Naruto yelped as he landed back on the bed again. Ibiki shook his head and walked over. "You know what? Can you just hand me that bottle over there?"

The bottle was exchanged and Naruto quickly shoved it under the sheet. Thirty seconds of looking everywhere that _wasn't_ his brother, the bottle emerged, now full. It was quickly disposed of, and Ibiki looked Naruto square in the eye. "You know, I could think of better ways for this meeting to have started."

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "But none as entertaining. You're gonna laugh at me later on."

Ibiki shrugged.

"So what'd you come down here for?" Naruto asked curiously.

Ibiki looked affronted. "Can't a guy come see his little brother? Especially if they've been in a _coma_ for the past three weeks."

"Yeah. Sorry about that by the way. But ninja are supposed to protect the Hokage, right?"

Ibiki closed his eyes. "Hokage-sama is ready and willing to lay down his life to protect anyone from Konoha, especially you. A ninja is supposed to protect the village, the Hokage can protect himself."

"The academy teaches that the Hokage is representative of the whole village, so if I let oji-san die when I could have saved him, I might as well have sacrificed the village right then."

"You know as well as I do that the academy is nothing more than a tool used to weed out those who would be completely useless as shinobi. They don't even teach you the basics of combat until the second year, and even then it's mostly theory that hardly sees any use. And the only time any of the shinobi history has been required information is on my elimination test. The only really useful things that the academy teaches you are the various ways to memorize information and a basically solid taijutsu style that's easy to modify."

Naruto held up a defiant finger. "It also teaches you how to stay awake through even the most boring presentations."

Ibiki nodded. "Point taken. I saw too many people fall asleep during mission briefings before Iruka started working there. He's a nice guy, but he's certainly boring."

There was comfortable silence for several minutes before Ibiki spoke again. "So what's going on with you and Haku-san? I saw her earlier with a huge grin on her face."

Obviously, the three-week coma had done nothing to Naruto's ability to blush. He was currently pushing past crimson and quickly heading towards spontaneous combustion. "We, um, that is, you see…you don't, really, come on, aniki…Dammit!"

Ibiki smirked. "Well, all things considered, it'll be good to finally have her out of her funk. Though I'm not sure if a love-sick daze will be much better."

Naruto tried to object, but all he got out was an incoherent growl.

"And really, with all the medical restrictions Tsunade-sama is bound to slap on you, you'll likely have a lot of time to _get to know each other_," Ibiki said laughing as Naruto reddened with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"Pardon me Ibiki-san, but I'd like a word with Naruto," Jiraiya said from his perch on the window. Ibiki and Naruto jumped, having completely failed to sense his arrival.

"It'll only be a few minutes, but I need to talk with him as soon as possible," Jiraiya said seriously, something at odd with his normal personality. Ibiki looked back at Naruto for several long moments and nodded minutely. Once Ibiki was gone, Jiraiya fixed his blonde student with a hard stare. "I don't need to tell you how much you fucked up when you went after Orochimaru. You should count yourself lucky. The only reason you aren't in serious trouble for letting loose your summons like you did is because of the influence you've got backing you from sensei, hime, and me."

"Wait a second? You're not gonna yell at me for getting into another fight that was way beyond my level?"

"Brat, I'm not going to yell at you for winning any fight, regardless of how much you should have been outmatched. You're going to have enough people who are going to do that. I'm going to yell at you for letting two building-sized summons run around without direction."

"Hey, I told them exactly what I wanted them to do. They were supposed to take care of the giant snakes without destroying the whole village."

"By summoning those two, the fox in particular, you probably incited more panic than any of the snakes. The snakes were easy enough for the village to deal with. Sure, most couldn't so much as scratch them, but once they got over the initial shock, there wasn't a whole lot of psychological terror there. But when you summoned the fox, the majority of people immediately thought that the Kyuubi was back. It doesn't matter that it wasn't, not even close, but the mere sight of a giant fox was more than enough to scare most of our ninja in range to attack it. It was only when it started attacking the snakes that they let up, and that was because they had to deal with the Suna and Oto ninja."

"I couldn't just let oji-san fight on his own, and I wasn't about to leave those snakes to destroy the village, so I did the best thing that I could think of at the time."

"And it's only because of the fact that everything worked out that you're still alive. If sensei had died, you'd likely be dead, regardless of whether or not the Brothers had killed you. The council was discussing your execution hours after the fighting was done."

"What? Oh man, I've gotta-"

Jiraiya forced Naruto back down with one hand. "Calm down. You must have forgotten what I told you earlier. Sensei talked the council down, backed by Tsunade-hime and me. Your life is in no more danger than it was five minutes ago. Though, considering your list of enemies, that's not saying much."

"Yeah, Akatsuki's after me."

"Don't forget Orochimaru. This is the second time you've faced him and lived. Right now, the old snake is probably looking to kill you just on general principles. Though I've noticed you seem to have that effect on people."

"Oh, shut up."

The metal end of a scroll smacked Naruto in the face as Jiraiya had given him no warning. "I've said my piece. I expect you to have that committed to memory by the next time I see you. I'm off to research, apprentice."

--

Kakashi nodded to Sakura, not really surprised that she was here. It was just now making the rounds amongst the village gossip that Naruto was now awake. Since she wasn't on the same team anymore, she wouldn't see much of him. It only made sense that she would want to say good-bye.

They walked together in silence, finally coming to Naruto's door. Sakura knocked and her old teammate called for them to come in. His eyes widened in surprise, though he quickly brightened. "Hey Kakashi-sensei! Sakura! What are you doing here?"

"Naruto, you baka, do we need a reason to see you? We've known each other for years, not to mention we've been teammates. And Kakashi-sensei is your teacher, he's supposed to come see you when you're in the hospital," Sakura scolded.

Naruto shook the scroll in his hands, calling attention to it. "Not so much anymore. I'm in an apprenticeship."

Sakura didn't bother hiding her surprise. "You too? I just got accepted as an apprentice! That's so awesome!"

"Congratulations, Naruto," Kakashi said. "I know Sakura is apprenticed under Uzuki Yuugao, but who accepted you?" The silver-haired elite jounin had a better than average idea, especially considering the techniques he displayed during the final exam, but he wanted to hear it from Naruto to make sure.

He showed them the handwritten title of the scroll. _Basic Sealing Techniques and Practices by Jiraiya_

"You got one of the Sannin to take you as an apprentice!" Sakura let out a grunt of jealousy.

"So you got taken as an apprentice too? Good for you," Naruto congratulated. "Hey, where's Sasuke-teme?"

"Don't call Sasuke-kun a bastard!" Sakura shouted reflexively.

"Sasuke is currently in rehab for his arm," Kakashi answered, ignoring Sakura's outburst.

"Oh yeah," Naruto said, "I have to collect my bet. I knew Gaara was going to beat him. Of course, if baa-chan picked up my winnings, I won't have any money left."

"How'd you get Jiraiya-sama to train you?" Sakura asked, bringing the conversation around to something she wanted to know.

"He's a big super pervert, so when I caught him peeping on the bathhouses, I threatened to tell all the women what he was doing. He started training me right away," Naruto said proudly.

Sakura looked dumbfounded. "B-but Jiraiya-sama is a legendary shinobi. He's supposed to be serious and respectful, and one of the best ninja ever to come from Konoha. He can't be like that."

Naruto shrugged. "Ero-sennin writes Icha Icha. Of course he's a pervert. And Kakashi-sensei's a pervert, and he's really well known outside of the Konoha. And the old man is a pervert too, when he gets the time."

"Which old man?" Sakura asked.

"The Hokage," Naruto answered, matter-of-factly.

"You shouldn't talk about the Hokage like that, Naruto-baka," Sakura reprimanded.

"If he was going to call me up on insubordination, he would have done it a long time ago," Naruto replied. "He's always been the old man to me, and he always will be. Besides, he _is_ old."

"You still shouldn't call him that," Sakura said, not abandoning her position. "He deserves more respect."

Naruto grunted, not really acknowledging the point either way. He changed the subject. "So, what's your new teacher like?"

"She's strict, but she's really helped me get better with my genjutsu. I was able to take out a group of the invaders because of her training."

"How'd you do that?" Naruto asked, thrilled for his ex-teammate's progress.

Sakura blushed at Naruto's enthusiasm. "I was able to hide my presence under several layers of genjutsu, and picked off the ones on the outside first. Then, when the main group was preoccupied with Kakashi-sensei and Maito-san, I was able to place them under a hypnotic genjutsu that turned them against each other briefly, long enough for me to sneak in and place an explosive tag in the middle of them. I think it was easier than it should have been, but they didn't seem to have anyone too skilled in genjutsu with them. If they had, I would never have been able to pull off my strategy."

"No way, that would have worked anyway. Your illusions were always really good, and if you got extra training in them, there's no way those stupid invaders could have beat them," Naruto encouraged. He wasn't sure of this fact, having not been under any of Sakura's genjutsu for almost two months and having had no idea of just how much she had improved, but if she was going to go to the effort of coming to visit him, he was going to make sure she felt as good about herself as possible.

"It's nice to see you concerned about Sakura, Naruto," Kakashi said mildly, "but it's generally not considered polite to ask about training techniques like that. I suppose it's alright since you used to be teammates, but that's something that's usually kept close to the chest."

Naruto blushed. "Sorry Kakashi-sensei."

"Just don't make the same mistake again. Konoha needs to keep all the secrets it can, at this point, including training and combat secrets. You never know who might be a spy, after all," Kakashi explained.

"Now that we won't be on Team Seven anymore, who do you think you'll get for the rest of your team, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked politely, steering the conversation a different direction.

"Oh, I suppose you haven't heard, have you. That gossip circle wouldn't get down to you, I believe." Kakashi's eye curved into the smile Naruto and Sakura were so familiar with at this point. "I'm not going to be a jounin instructor anymore, at least not for the foreseeable future. I'm needed back on jounin duties full time, so I don't have time to teach."

"What's going to happen to Sasuke-kun then, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"He'll be put on a different genin team, one that has a opening. I wouldn't be too worried about it, Sakura. You should be concentrating on surviving your apprenticeship. Roughly twenty-five percent of those people who are accepted into one die from the rough training they're put through, you know."

Sakura's face twisted. "So you don't think I can do it?" she asked, her voice dangerous.

Kakashi held up a calm hand. "Oh no, I just wanted to make sure both you and Naruto knew what you are getting yourselves into. But I think the warning is more for Naruto. You shouldn't have any trouble with Uzuki-san. But Jiraiya-sama is known as a harsh taskmaster. It's one of the reasons the Yondaime was so strong."

Conversation moved from there into more light areas, and they didn't come back to the subject of apprenticeship for the rest of the visit.

--

Chouji munched happily on a bag of chips, cheerfully ignoring the glares Tenten and Ino were shooting each other. Shikamaru had his hands behind his head, staring up at the sky, and Shino was silent as he rounded out their group. They had just heard that Naruto was awake and accepting visitors, and were all on their way to see him.

The young Akimichi was the first one to open the door as the girls were fighting amongst themselves. Shikamaru and Shino were perfectly content to stay at the back of the pack.

Chouji gulped as he saw Naruto on the bed, and pressed himself against the side wall as two distinct bursts of killing intent flared to life behind him.

Naruto stiffened and Haku jumped up from where she had been kissing him, a fistful of senbon already poised to strike.

"What the hell were you doing to him, you hussy?" Ino shrieked, regaining her voice first.

Haku narrowed her eyes. "I was kissing my boyfriend, Yamanaka-san," she replied coolly. "And I would appreciate if you would not cast aspirations upon my character in the future."

"You're the most troublesome person I know, Naruto," Shikamaru muttered, almost low enough to not be heard, but not quite.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," Shino said mildly. Tenten and Ino turned to glare at him, not that it seemed to ruffle him.

Naruto grinned widely, and let out a short satisfied chuckle. "Yeah, I'm pretty happy. Except for, you know, being confined to a bed and not able to train. Hey, you're wearing a chuunin vest," Naruto exclaimed, pointing at Shikamaru.

"Yeah, I've been promoted. It's got my mom off my back for now, but who knows how long that'll last," Shikamaru grumbled.

"I too, have been promoted," Shino announced.

"Good for you," Naruto said, though it was obvious from his face that he was jealous that his friends had been promoted.

"I think you made chuunin too," Chouji said helpfully.

Haku blushed as Naruto shot up in surprise. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, I thought Tsunade-sama or one of the others had told you already. Apparently the Fire Lord and the chuunin judges were very impressed with your match against Neji. Combined with the pressure Hokage-sama was placing on the Konoha Council they were forced to allow your promotion."

"Awesome!" Naruto shouted, shoving his fist up in the air. "I knew I was strong enough to make it."

Ino cracked first, looking back and forth between Naruto and Haku. "Dammit, it was supposed to be me! You were supposed to be kissing me Naruto-kun, not her."

Naruto blushed, first in embarrassment and then in anger. "Ino-chan, you've been a really good friend to me for a long time, just like Tenten-chan. If things were different, I'd probably date either one of you. But right now I'm with Haku-chan, and if you're really my friend, you'll be happy for us. Understand?"

Ino and Tenten looked rebellious, but folded quickly. Their friendship with Naruto was more important to them than their crushes.

Not that this would stop them from trying in the future, but for now they'd let it go.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun," they said in unison.

There was a sharp knock on the door, drawing everyone's attention to Gaara, who had just arrived.

"Hey Gaara, what's up?" Naruto greeted, happy for a good reason to change the subject.

"Uzumaki." Gaara nodded minutely. "It is good to see you alive. I was…concerned when I heard about your actions three weeks ago."

Naruto shrugged. "I just did what needed to be done to protect the village."

Gaara didn't react outwardly, though he tucked the knowledge away himself. "I have just come from the final treaty negotiations. Konoha and Suna are once again allies."

"That's good to hear."

"However, there is a matter that must be addressed, and I volunteered to be the one to inform you of it."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "What's that mean?"

Gaara's tone never changed. "In order to seal the treaty between our villages, once you are discharged from the hospital, you will marry my sister Temari."

---------------------

**Author's End Note:** Because of a comment my beta gave me, I though I'd clarify down here. The ninja that was killed by Naruto way back in Chapter Two was supposed to be Konan. She was using the Shoten no Jutsu, the technique that Itachi and Kisame used during the Rescue Gaara arc. That's why she appeared to be dead and still appears in this chapter. I believe than any direct entry into a Hidden Village would be handled with this technique, as Akatsuki wouldn't want to risk their top operatives when they have other options available.


	14. Chapter 14

"I'm gonna what?" Naruto blurted.

"You will marry Temari to seal the treaty. In order to keep the agreement as fair as possible, Suna will be giving up one of their chuunin."

"So Temari got promoted? Good for her," Naruto said sourly, Gaara's news rocking him like a heavy dose of poison.

"Yes. Kankuro was also granted chuunin rank. Traditionally, the children of the Kage or other prominent ninja are the only ones used in treaty agreements like this. Temari was the logical choice from Suna."

"So why was I chosen?" Naruto asked bitterly.

"I would not allow Temari to be wed to anyone else," Gaara said plainly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "She would likely be abused if she were to marry another from your village, in some petty attempt at revenge. I know you would not do that. Also, you are strong enough to protect her, should she need it."

"But, the council pretty much hates me," Naruto said. "I've got a few people who support me, but most of them want me dead. How'd you get them to agree to have Temari marry me instead of some rich Clan Head?"

"I vowed to crush each one who opposed me on this matter."

Naruto gave a considering grunt. "That would probably work. But I don't really want to marry Temari. I'm with Haku right now."

"Actually, Naruto," Shikamaru interrupted hesitantly. "You don't really have much of a choice." Naruto and the females in the room glared at him, but the Nara didn't back down, knowing what he had to say was important. The last thing anyone needed was Naruto creating an international incident because he was stubborn.

"Look, marriages are usually considered matters handled by the clan, and not something influenced by the Hokage. But marriages have been a way of cementing alliances for as long as the villages have existed. And in that case, the Hokage does have the right to order you to get married, even if it is against your wishes. You could refuse, but then you would be guilty of disobeying direct orders from the Hokage, and that means you'll be either executed, given your popularity, or you could flee and be marked as a missing-nin."

Naruto cursed. Kyuubi took the moment to speak up from inside his mind. **"Deal with it, kit, people are always going to tell you what to do. At least until you can prove your strength, get used to it. And considering you're being told that you're being given an attractive female, I wouldn't complain."**

'_So you think she's attractive? I wouldn't think you would lower yourself to look at human females.'_

Naruto winced as Kyuubi gave him the mental equivalent of a punch to the ribs. **"I've been imprisoned for more than a decade. The prospect of getting any kind of action is exciting."**

Naruto didn't argue. He knew that was an argument he couldn't win. He wasn't even sure he wanted to.

'_So I'm just supposed to lie down and take it? I never thought I'd hear that kind of advice from you.'_

"**There's a time to fight, and a time for negotiation. And considering you aren't the leader here, take your orders until you are."**

"So what's going to happen if I go along with this?" Naruto asked.

"Are you really going to do this?" Haku asked anxiously.

"Not like I have much of a choice, is it?" he grumbled.

"If it puts you at any ease, Temari is not pleased with the situation either," Gaara informed.

"What? Why wouldn't she want to marry Naruto-kun?" Ino shrieked. Tenten and Haku immediately agreed, even if they didn't like the topic.

"I didn't inquire. Baki advised against it when he saw how much destruction she was causing."

"Well, where is she?" Naruto asked. "If we don't have any choice, we might as well get to know each other."

"She is in Sunagakure at the moment. Once your injuries are fully healed, Temari's arrangements there should be finished. At that point, you two will be married."

"So I really don't have any choice about this? Or any say in anything?"

"No." Gaara's voice was as flat and unemotional as ever.

Everyone's eyes bounced back and forth as Gaara and Naruto argued about the marriage for the next half hour. They were actually surprised it didn't last longer. Naruto's stubbornness was legendary, but Gaara proved nearly impossible to argue with, even to someone used to Shino and his unrelenting logic. Naruto ended with agreeing to the marriage, but he promised that he wouldn't give up and was going to look for any way out of the coupling. This made Haku beam, even as her heart was breaking, as she knew there wasn't any way out of it that Naruto could exploit.

As Gaara made his way to leave, Naruto stopped him. "Hey, you told me that Temari and Kankuro were promoted, but you never said anything about how you did?"

Gaara was silent for a beat. "The judges did not believe my fight was impressive enough to merit promotion to chuunin."

Naruto looked uncomfortable. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that…"

Gaara continued. "However, the Suna council has decided that I will be granted the title of Kazekage in three months."

Naruto's jaw dropped.

--

"Why'd you do it, old man?" Naruto demanded the next time the Sandaime Hokage visited him. "Why'd you let them force me into marriage?"

Sarutobi's eyes flashed, and for an instant, Naruto was terrified of the man who treated him like family since childhood. "Naruto, I am your Hokage, and as such I do not appreciate you questioning my decisions. If you were someone else, I might have you jailed for speaking to me as you did. You are now a chuunin of Konoha, so act like it."

There was a grave silence before Naruto spoke up. "Sorry, Hokage-sama."

"Naruto-kun, I'm still the same person who took you for your first bowl of ramen, and you were too scared to try it. However, you have changed, so that makes a difference in how I will treat you. Understand?

"Now, there are several reasons why I chose you. First, you were requested by Gaara. I would prefer to have our new relationship with Suna start off on an agreement, not a rejection. Second, you were are one of the few ninja prominent enough to be considered for this even remotely close to Temari's age. Third, you would not hold it against Temari that she comes from a village that just attacked us. Fourth, I decided to have you do it instead of pushing for someone else because I've stuck my neck out enough lately, and I needed something to go nice and smooth."

Naruto squinted. "Doesn't the council really not like me? Wouldn't having me be the sacrificial lamb be something that they would oppose?"

"Before the invasion, likely. But as we were just attacked, I was able to seize a large portion of my power back from the council. Though it is not been technically declared, we are at war with Oto. During wartime, the Hokage can take a great deal more control than he would have if we were at peace."

"Um, we live in a ninja village that's hated by most of our surrounding neighbors. Aren't we always at war?"

"If you want to be a pessimist, you could see it that way. If any of our ninja were found in by an Iwa patrol in Earth Country, they would likely be killed after a long torture session. But since the majority of our time is spent without constant conflict, we consider ourselves at peace. It's less stressful."

"I see."

"As I was saying, I now have more direct power than I would normally, so I can use that power to push things through. Additionally, my opposition knows that they need me to lead Konoha for now, at least until Konoha is rebuilt. It does not do to change horse midstream." _'And my largest opposition is now dead,'_ he didn't add.

"Really Naruto, this is almost a blessing. At least you don't have to worry about the right way to propose. And Temari-san is not exactly unattractive. I fail to see the problem."

"I was already dating Haku-chan!" Naruto burst.

Sarutobi's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Well, that could be a problem. Especially if Tsunade has taught Haku her special strength technique."

"Haku-chan doesn't have it mastered, but she's pretty good with it. She destroyed my chair the other day."

Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm, that does sound like a dilemma. Well, good luck figuring it out. I just wouldn't ask Jiraiya for advice. It may end up…painful, for you."

Sarutobi was out of the room before Naruto even realized what had happened.

He would have been more upset, but it wasn't often Naruto was successfully pranked.

--

It was three weeks before Naruto was fit enough for missions again. Even so, he wasn't anywhere near his level before the finals. Too much time had passed without training. And it didn't help that Jiraiya had forbidden him from activating his gravity seal at any level higher than one point five normal gravity. He was sure it was just a fluke that he had collapsed when he had tried to put it back to where it was before his coma.

At least Suna's preparations were taking longer than expected, and Naruto hadn't had to marry Temari yet. It wasn't that he didn't like her, she seemed nice enough, but he'd much rather be with Haku. But the second Naruto was judged mission worthy, he was assigned to his new team. Despite being Jiraiya's apprentice, the village needed chuunin more. Fortunately, his team consisted of people he knew. Shikamaru and Shino. They knew about his tenant and didn't care, which was a benefit that wasn't guaranteed if he worked with a different team, and they were already comfortable with each other, something new chuunin squads usually had to work to accomplish, provided they weren't the same teams the members had been as genin.

That was how Naruto found him to be in his current situation. Quietly evading guards as they tried to escape from a minor daimyo's mansion without raising attention.

They had been assigned a B-rank assassination. A higher rank than was usually given to new chuunin, but the village was understaffed and desperate. They were supposed to get rid of a Tea country official, as well as empty his coffers. Shino and Shikamaru were taking care of the assassination, and Naruto was tasked with storing the money and valuables in scrolls.

Not the easiest mission with only a three-man squad, but the Sandaime had obviously felt they were up to it. Much to their surprise, they were.

Getting in was easy, their passage blocked only by a few guards that were quickly circumvented or strangled by shadows, hiding them carefully as they went. Naruto split off from Shikamaru and Shino halfway through the mansion, and made his way to the vault. Shino and Shikamaru quickly dispatched the target and his personal guard without raising the alarm.

Naruto stealthily slit the throats of the guards at the vault, and cracked it with an Earth-type seal that melted the door completely. He created a trio of clones and emptied the large vault as quickly as possible. Sadly, it contained more than anticipated, and it took longer than he had allowed. As he left to meet up with his teammates, Naruto met the next shift's guards. Two hastily summoned frogs restrained them before they could raise the alarm. Naruto quickly killed them before leaving without running across anyone else.

After meeting up outside the mansion, the trio traveled for almost two hours before setting up camp, Konoha still being nearly two days travel away. Once a security perimeter of Naruto clones was set up, Shino quickly fixed a small dinner from a young wild boar Shikamaru had run across.

"This is really good, Shino," Naruto complimented after his friend served the boar.

"Yes, it's surprisingly well-prepared," Shikamaru added. "Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

Shino swallowed the mouthful of boar he was occupied with before answering. "I've always had a talent in the culinary arts, and I became the team cook when we became genin."

"Really?" Shikamaru raised a lazy eyebrow.

Shino nodded. "Kiba is unable to prepare anything more complicated than Akamaru's dog food, and while Hinata's medicinal creams are surprisingly effective, her cooking skills……leave something to be desired."

Naruto's head snapped over to the side, suddenly alert. "What was that?"

Shino peered at his friend queerly. "What are you talking about? There's nothing around us except for there's a rabbit fifty yards to the west, along with your clones."

Naruto shook his head, squinting into the trees. "No, someone's out there. I know it."

"Naruto, if someone were watching us, my sentries would have detected them. I have ordered them to report anyone who enters the vicinity."

"Could someone get past them without detection?" Shikamaru asked.

Shino narrowed his eyes. "No. But if they could, we would likely already be dead."

Naruto kept his eyes on the trees, looking for something his teammates and senses said wasn't there. But something was tugging on the back of his mind; he knew there was something watching them.

Another hour passes and the feeling still hadn't gone away. If anything, the itch had grown stronger. "Alright guys, there's something there, I know there is. Come out and face-"

WHAM!

Naruto grunted as he slammed into a tree. There was a fist-sized mark on his jaw, angry and red.

Shino and Shikamaru were immediately on their feet, ready for a fight. Shikamaru was surrounded by a miasma of shadow, and the air around Shino was filled with an irate buzzing.

"I should have known a piece of filth like you would surround yourself with stains," a disembodied voice said.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded. The spot he was glaring at shimmered and coalesced into a muscular, rough looking man in his twenties.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you don't know who I am. Stupid hanyou."

"**That's a kitsune from one of the few splinter families still around. I recognize the smell."**

'_What are you talking about now?'_

"**Every so often, someone would think they know how to run things better than I, and they would break off from the main clan. Usually I crushed them before they got very far, but a few have survived. I normally have a few of the stronger members tasked with hunting them down, but this one seems to have eluded them…until now. Kill him for me. Before he kills you. He doesn't seem to like you very much."**

'_Umm, okay.'_

"**I'd get going if I were you,"** Kyuubi remarked mildly as Naruto was sent flying again. **"You'll likely need to pull out all the stops."**

"Shino, Shikamaru! This guy isn't what he looks like! Don't hold anything back!"

The kitsune snorted. "I doubt you have anything in your arsenal that can harm me, but if you feel the need to entertain me before your deaths, I have a few minutes."

Naruto gritted his teeth before shooting forward, launching into a taijutsu combination he had picked up from Zabuza. The normally fatal series of moves was blocked with terrifying ease, with speed on a level Naruto had never seen before, not even when training with Jiraiya or Tsunade.

A brace of kunai flew over Naruto's head, sinking into the kitsune. His form wavered and disappeared, showing it had been nothing but an illusion. Shikamaru flew out of the trees, bruises already forming on his face. Shino leapt between the shadow user and the kitsune, engaging him in taijutsu while Shikamaru got back up. Naruto released his transformation, his tails blooming into existence behind him, whipping around irritably.

The kitsune smirked as he backhanded Shino into another tree before turning his attention to Naruto. Then he disappeared.

He didn't blur into motion, he didn't melt into the ground, he simply disappeared. It was one of the scariest things Naruto had ever seen. A fist slammed into Naruto's face, blackening his eye and splitting his lip.

The kitsune laughed as he saw all his opponents lying on the ground, beaten. "I can't believe this is the best you can do. Even if you are just a filthy hanyou and two stains on the earth, I expected better than this."

He walked over and kicked Naruto in the ribs. "I really expected more from you. Even if you're a hanyou, you are part fox." He sniffed the air. "And it seems you come from serious power," he laughed. "Too bad you'll never come into it. You'll be dead long before then."

He bent down, and whispered into Naruto's ear, "Any last words?"

"Yeah. Fuuin: Kai!" Naruto slammed a scroll into the kitsune's chest, and pushed away with all his might.

An enormous amount of water exploded violently, slamming into the kitsune hunter with the force of a tsunami, battering him harshly as Naruto leapt away, allies in his arms.

Naruto crouched on the limb of one of Fire Country's signature trees, Shikamaru and Shino lying across it. He formed two quick handseals and performed an E-class Raiton jutsu to wake his friends up.

Shikamaru hissed through his teeth as his eyes shot open. "Troublesome technique," he muttered.

"Well, it'd be more troublesome if I hadn't woken you up. Somehow I doubt that technique is going to slow him down for too much longer."

Shino looked at the ground, only to notice it was covered in several feet of rising water. "Naruto, what technique did you use?" he asked seriously.

"It's something Ero-sennin showed me. But I don't have another one of those things, so we've got to beat this guy quick, before he gets his bearings."

Shikamaru nodded. "I'll stick to the trees. There's enough shadows here that I should be able to catch him if you keep him distracted long enough. Shino, stick to hit and run tactics, try to keep him guessing. Naruto, hit him hard, and don't let up."

"AARRRRGGH!"

"I knew that wouldn't keep him down," Naruto groaned.

"You filthy fucking hanyou! You worthless piece of trash! I'll rend you limb from limb! I'll devour your entrails! You'll beg me for death before I'm done!"

"Go!"

A horde of Naruto clones exploded from behind the tree, spreading out quickly, shouting and trying to attract as much attention as possible. The clones started tossing out low-level jutsu over and over, restricting movement and peppering the kitsune with shredding winds and swirling waters.

The kitsune blurred around the clearing, tearing through Naruto's doppelgangers effortlessly. After ripping the head off the shoulders of yet another Naruto, he stilled. "You're only delaying the inevitable! But please, continue with these simple replications. I had thought I would only be able to kill you once, hanyou, but with this technique, I, Kurizu of the Uorisu branch, get to end you over and over."

"You like it?" Naruto said. Kurizu dispersed that one in an instant, as another horde of clones appeared.

"Then maybe you'll-" That one was killed before it finished it speaking.

"Like this one." Another gone.

"**Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu**!" at least three dozen voices called at once. Nearly forty water dragons leapt from the water fully formed, lunging at the stunned kitsune. Moving at the last second, the first three dragons were dodged. The fourth dragon grazed his side, knocking him into the fifth. The dragons twisted around each other, creating an elaborate dance that pulverized Kurizu. One smashed him into a tree, pinning him there, until the combined force of the next three dragons snapped the tree trunk. After more than a full minute of carnage, the swirling waters collapsed, ripples the only indication that the surface had ever been disturbed.

Kunai and shuriken began flying out of the trees. Even with what looked like a broken arm and near unconsciousness, Kurizu dodged all but one of the bladed weapons, gaining a puncture wound to the right leg.

There was a brief lull in the battle before Kurizu seemed to swell with power, red youki manifesting around him, swirling slowly at first, building speed quickly. The trio of chuunin tried to attack with kunai once more, but the youki diverted the blades before they posed any kind of danger.

The wave of energy grew in volume, swirling faster until it was a twelve foot nearly solid mass. Suddenly, the energy exploded outward, decimating everything in its path, leaving a barren crater nearly forty feet across, and scarred trees for a hundred more in every direction.

Shino glared at Kurizu as the remains of his **Mushi Kabe no Jutsu** bled away, the kikai returned to his body. He scowled as he realized only a third of the kikai survived the attack. Moving closer for a better position, Shino assessed the damage caused. In addition to the depletion of his colonies, every inch of exposed skin (thankfully little) was covered in light burns, and his clothes were still smoking slightly. As he neared, the kitsune started to chuckle before growing to a crazed cackle.

"You…you actually…made me use that attack," Kurizu slurred. "I can tell you survived; the energy from my attack now hangs around you like a cloak. I was going to kill you fairly slowly, but now your torture will last forever! Tales of your pain will be told throughout the ages!"

There was a blur of motion, and Naruto was pinned to a tree, Kurizu's hand clenched around his throat.

"You will be the first to scream." Suddenly, Kurizu tilted his head to the side, and a stabbing pain blossomed in Naruto's shoulder. Behind Kurizu, he could see Shino standing on a branch, his hand still extended from the throw. With a loud grunt, Naruto reached up and pulled the kunai from his shoulder, slashed Kurizu's throat, and pulled downward, opening a gash from shoulder to hip.

Kurizu stumbled back, clutching his wounds, and the shadows came alive around him, stabbing into his hands and feet, pulling him spread eagle to allow Naruto to tear Kurizu's throat out with his claws.

Several pained gasps later, Kurizu collapsed, his weight supported only by Shikamaru's jutsu.

There was a moment of tension before the group finally relaxed. They should have died. But they survived anyway. For a long minute, no one spoke. They could only stare at their fallen enemy.

"We need to get back to Konoha," Shikamaru said quietly.

Naruto shook his head. "No. There's something I need to do." He smeared his hand with blood from his shoulder. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**," he muttered. When the smoke cleared, the battle-scarred leader of the **Kitsune Shoutai**, Dachi, appeared.

"Naruto-sama, you are injured!" Dachi exclaimed. "Who did this? I will rend the flesh from his bones."

Naruto pointed tiredly at Kurizu. "That was him. Kyuubi said he was a traitor to the clan. I figured you would know the best way to dispose of him."

Dachi melted into the form of a distinguished middle-aged man in immaculate samurai armor as he approached Kurizu. "Yes. He was a traitor. He deserved what you gave him. He was also my son.

"I am impressed you defeated him. I trained him well before he betrayed the clan, and he was naturally gifted as well."

"Sorry for your loss," Naruto said, feeling awkward.

Dachi shook his head. "Kurizu made his choice. This is merely the consequence of that choice."

"He was still your son," Naruto shrugged.

"Yes." Dachi's focus shifted. "You two, come here." Shikamaru and Shino hesitated, but approached at Naruto's nod. Dachi reached into a hidden pocket and removed two scrolls. "I speak not for the rest of the clan, but should you ever need assistance, you will be able to call on the power of the **Kitsune Shoutai**. All you need do is sign that contract in blood."

Dachi turned back to Naruto. "Naruto-sama, do you require any further assistance?"

"No, we just need to get back to Konoha. We'll be fine."

"Very well." Dachi placed his hand on his deceased son's shoulder, and both disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Naruto looked at his friends, their eyes still on the scrolls they had just received. "Come on, put those away and let's get back to the village."

"That's nearly forty hours of travel," Shino pointed out. "None of us are in the best condition either."

"I've got soldier pills if you need them, but I want to get out of here. Hopefully we won't run into anyone else."

Shino and Shikamaru nodded briefly and they all leapt off in the direction of Konoha.

--

"Yuugao-shishou, there is a group approaching from the south," Sakura said, tensed and ready to strike.

"Good. Conceal yourself."

Sakura melted from view, disappearing into a tree limb. Thirty seconds later, Naruto's team stopped on the branch in front of her, burned, battered and bruised. "Hold on, we're leaf nin," Shikamaru said, flashing discrete hand signals all Konoha nin were taught to the group he saw in front of him. Sakura knew it was an illusion, but she still couldn't see through the patrol squad her master was creating.

Yuugao appeared as her illusion faded, her eyes narrowed. "Yes, you are. No one can imitate the chakra signal of the Aburame. What happened?"

"We ran into unexpected resistance after our mission was complete. Anything else will have to wait until we're debriefed by the Hokage."

Yuugao nodded. "Very well. If you don't have any objections, I'll give you an escort back to Konoha."

"Hey, we can take care of ourselves," Naruto protested, but there wasn't any real heat to it.

Yuugao moved in front of him, and poked her fingers into his shoulder, right next to the hole caused by Shino's kunai. Naruto hissed. "Really. Cause from where I'm standing, you got the shit kicked out of you and I bet a genin could drop all three of you without breaking a sweat. So why don't you let me and my student escort you back, keep your complaints to yourself, buy me a drink when we get back to Konoha, and I won't make you hallucinate for a week. Deal?"

"Fine," Naruto hissed through gritted teeth.

"Great, I'm sure we're going to get along great." Yuugao removed her fingers and flicked off the blood. "Sakura, you can come out now."

Sakura walked out of the tree, rummaging through her bag. "Naruto, I think I have an extra blood pill here, and I know I have a some bandages. Wait just a minute, and you can stop bleeding all over the forest."

"Thanks, Sakura, but it's really not necessary."

"Shut up, Naruto."

"Come on, we're only a few hours out."

"I'm not going to let you bleed a trail leading straight to us, and there's no way I'm going to be the one to carry your ass once you pass out from blood loss."

"Troublesome woman."

"Shut up, Shikamaru."

Shino wisely stayed silent.

--

Twelve hours later, the walls of Konoha came into view. The group paused for just a moment, drinking in the sight. Even Yuugao, after more than a decade and a half of missions, loved the sight of village coming into view.

Once they passed through the gate checkpoint, they made haste for the Hokage's Tower, to report their completed missions. After being checked through by the on-duty chuunin guards, they were finally at the Hokage's office.

"Hey, Yuugao-san, why are you giving your report directly to the Hokage?" Shikamaru probed. "The report desk is downstairs."

"Same reason you're giving your report to him. Something unusual happened on the mission. Something we can't talk about without telling the Hokage first."

"Uzuki-san, you may go in," the secretary said. "Nara-san, the Hokage will your team in a moment."

--

"Come on Sakura, we've got to stop by the bounty office, then you can be excused for the rest of the day."

"Yes, Yuugao-shishou."

"Nara-san, the Hokage will see your team now."

The Sandaime Hokage sat at his desk, hands steepled. "I understand there were some complications on your mission. Explain."

"The mission itself when well, Hokage-sama. We ran across more guards than were reported, but we were able to get out without raising any alarms. The complications came about on our return to Konoha. After we stopped and set up camp, we were attacked."

"You were tracked during your escape?" Sarutobi asked pointedly.

"No, we were attacked by someone unrelated to the mission," Shikamaru explained.

"It was a kitsune," Naruto said quietly. "A rogue who had left the clan years ago. I don't know how long ago, but he's been gone a while."

"Why did he attack you?"

"He wanted to, and he could. He didn't really seem to have any other reason. He really didn't like me, and could tell I was a half-demon even before I did anything. I'm not sure how he did that, my concealment techniques are supposed to be the best."

"**It's because you're using kitsune techniques to hide yourself. Of course another kitsune, especially one so much more experienced was able to see through them. Moron."**

'_Who asked you?'_

"Where did this confrontation take place?"

Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Two hours north from our target's mansion. It was on our side of border, but I'm not sure by how far."

Sarutobi nodded and closed his eyes. After he opened them, he spoke. "Your team will be paid for an A-rank in addition to the B-rank you were assigned. We had just received a mission to kill whoever it was massacring caravans going through that area. As it was a demon, the mission is automatically A-rank. Get to the hospital and have them fix your wounds. Report back for your next mission in four days. Naruto, if you would stay for a moment longer."

Shino and Shikamaru bowed before exiting quickly. "Naruto, Suna has finally finished their arrangements, and Temari will arrive tomorrow. You will be married the day after that. I will see you then. That will be all."

Naruto quietly exited, dumbfounded. "Hey guys," he muttered to Shino and Shikamaru. "Let's go."

"You're not yourself. What did the Hokage say?" Shino asked.

"I'm getting married the day after tomorrow," Naruto said absently.

--

Once the medics had healed all but the most minor of their wounds, Naruto led Shino and Shikamaru to one of the training grounds close to his house. "Hey, give me a second guys, then you can go home and sleep for as long as you want." Naruto bit his thumb and flipped through five handseals that were now second nature to him. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**."

"What do you require, Naruto-sama?" Dachi asked, his armored head bowed.

"Well, Shino and Shikamaru are going to sign their contracts, and I figured you'd want to be here. When I signed the toad contract, there was a toad there. I thought that you'd want to be here to represent the clan, or something like that."

"There is a representative here, Naruto-sama. You."

"No, I meant someone who would be summoned, you know, someone like you."

"I understand. However, you are an acceptable witness. You are part of the clan, and could be summoned under the correct circumstances."

"What do you mean?"

"Provided you allowed someone the full kitsune contract, they could conceivably summon you. I believe the reason you didn't know before was that no one else had the contract. You cannot summon yourself, and neither of these two will be able to summon you, as their contracts only extend as far as my troops."

"Oh. Okay. Wait, people can summon me?"

Dachi sighed, a bizarre expression for an enormous fox. "No. The only one with the full summoning contract is you, Naruto-sama. And you can't summon yourself. So unless you allow someone to sign the full contract, you won't have to worry about it. Forget I ever mentioned it. You look tired."

"No, I just found out I'm going to be getting married the day after tomorrow."

Dachi's eyes immediately widened. "You are to be wed?" he asked, not bothering to hide his interest.

"Yeah, it's a political thing. She's the daughter of the former Kazekage and the sister of the next."

Dachi nodded, approving. "If I may be so bold, who have you selected to be your clan's representative?"

"Didn't you just say I could be the clan representative myself?" Naruto asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Yes, regarding most things, especially the minor details." Shikamaru frowned at being referred to as a 'minor detail'. Dachi continued. "However, this is hardly minor. This is your wedding, your first, to the best of my knowledge. Given enough prior notice, the entire Council of Eight would attend."

"The Council of Eight? Who're they?"

Dachi looked at Shino and Shikamaru warily. "Perhaps this would be better discussed later, in private."

Naruto got the not so subtle hint. "I guess we can talk about it later. Well, since we're here, we better do this." As Shino and Shikamaru took out their contracts, Kyuubi spoke up from the recesses of Naruto's mind.

"**The Council of Eight are the most powerful kitsune in the clan, other than myself. They have lived for thousands of years, and are spread out across the planet. They are in charge of the majority of the day-to-day decisions regarding where they are. And before you ask, the eight refers to the number of tails they each have, not how many members there are. That's about twenty-three or so."**

'_Hm. Cool.'_

"**And do not ask about the clan where others can hear again. The clan is private, and I want to keep it that way. That said, Dachi is one of the better advisors you could find. He has been around quite some time, and knows a great deal that would be of advantage to you."**

'_Wait a second, Dachi only has three tails. If he's been around so long, why doesn't he have more tails?'_

"**The number of tails does not tell how old one is, but how much power one has. Some are nearly as ancient as I, but have only one or two tails. Others are young, but have a great deal of raw power. Chairomaru is one such example. He's only around fifty years or so, and already has four tails. And he has a great deal more potential for growth. Likely he will end up with six or seven tails. His development has been impressive. More impressive than yours, in any case."**

'_What? The hell are you talking about? I'm plenty strong!'_

"**In your mind, perhaps. But with my power sealed within you, you should have been able to crush Kurizu without a second thought. That you were not is an embarrassment. I will have to start training you in the use of youki. You have obviously not been working on any development on your own."**

'_Well what do you expect? It's not like I've had any instruction. Or time.'_

"**I don't care for excuses. I expect improvement."**

"Hey! Naruto! Wake up," Shikamaru snapped, an annoyed look on his face. "You're spacing out on us. We'll see you tomorrow or the next day."

Shino nodded, still vaguely amused at the fact that Naruto had gotten trapped in a marriage to someone he didn't know.

"Yeah, I'll see you later. I let you guys know when to show up."

They nodded and walked off, too tired to bother traveling by roof. Naruto turned around to see Dachi still standing there. "Will there be anything else, Naruto-sama?"

"Yeah, actually. Fuzzy said you'd probably be a good guy to have around. You want to be the representative for when I get…married?"

Dachi's eyes widened noticeably. "Kyuubi-sama said that? It is an honor. Of course, summon me for whatever you need."

Naruto nodded and Dachi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

--

Naruto tossed his coat on the hanger by the door and was immediately tackled to the floor.

"My little Naru-chan! Getting married…" Anko slurred as she held Naruto's face between her breasts.

"Anko…can't…breathe!"

"You're all grown up and killing people, getting married…I don't want you to go…"

"Anko…I'm not going anywhere. This is my house."

"You're kicking me out?" Anko looked ready to cry. "I thought you loved me…you were such a good kid, why are you making me leave?"

Naruto tried to wiggle out of Anko's grip, but she tightened her hold around his waist. "Dammit Anko, I'm not making you leave, but if you don't let go right now, I'm going to punch you in the face!" he cried.

Anko snuggled in and started to snore.

Naruto groaned and slammed his fist into Anko's face three times before she loosened up enough for him to escape her hold. Naruto fixed a glare on Ibiki, who was standing in the doorway, smirking. "You think that was funny?"

"Yes."

"Bastard."

"It's my job."

"And you enjoy it entirely too much."

"I've heard people say that, but I just don't know what they're talking about."

Naruto shook his head and changed the subject. "How long has she been drinking?"

"Since Hokage-sama told us that you would be getting married in two days. She hit her mission limit just after you left, so unless Konoha is attacked, she doesn't have to worry about being hung-over in the mission office."

"But we get to have fun with a drunk Anko for the next two weeks. Great."

"You know the policy, Naruto. Any ninja who completes ten B or higher ranked missions back to back has to take a mandatory leave to prevent burnout. Everyone follows it, even Anko with her aversion to rules."

"She doesn't usually drink like this though. Normally she trains with me whenever she hits the mission limit." Naruto frowned. "Though I guess I haven't been around as much since I made chuunin." The frown deepened. "I haven't been able to see much of anyone since I made chuunin."

Ibiki walked over and ruffled Naruto's hair before shoving him deeper into the house. "Yeah, well that happens when you get promoted. Not to mention that everyone is working double since the invasion."

"I guess so…"

Whatever Naruto was going to say next was cut off as he was sent stumbling back against the wall, propelled by a jet of pressurized water.

"Damn, runt, what's up with you? Normally you'd dodge that and try to beat the crap out of me. Real missions taking it out of you?" Zabuza laughed, his hands still twisted into the final seal of the water jutsu he had used.

"What was that for?" Naruto sputtered, wiping the water off his face as best he could.

Zabuza shrugged. "Why not? It's not as if you haven't done something to deserve it, even if I don't know what it is at the moment."

"Look, I just got back from a finicky mission, one that turned to complete shit on our way back, and when I get back, I find out that I'm supposed to get married two days from now. So right now, I'm going to go to my room and sleep for the next forty-eight hours. If you wake me up, I'll practice Anko's castration techniques on you."

Naruto drew himself up and walked down the hall, squishing with each step. Zabuza smirked and did his water jutsu again, sending Naruto crashing head over heels into the far wall. The soggy jinchuuriki lobbed a kunai at Zabuza, who easily plucked it out of the air as Naruto turned the corner.

The two sadistic ninja stood in the hall for a moment, before Ibiki spoke up. "…You're cleaning this up."

--

Temari walked through the village, a chuunin assigned to guide her to her new husband's house chatting inanely by her side.

She knew she didn't have a choice. She was the most logical option to be used in the treaty. She was a Kazekage's daughter, and the next Kazekage's sister. She had several years experience as a ninja, and was a new chuunin. It was clear that Konoha would want to add her to their ranks. Temari was just glad Gaara had been able to "convince" the council the make sure she hadn't ended up with some aged bastard who would treat her like filth.

Apparently Gaara had gotten her married to Uzumaki Naruto, the kid who had saved her brother from himself. If not for him, Gaara would probably still be attacking anyone who was nearby anytime it struck his whim. Gaara would still be the monster feared by an entire ninja village. Needless to say, she owed Naruto. Her whole family did. Even if her family was only Gaara and Kankuro.

So she would comply, even if she wanted to do no such thing. Besides, her only other option was to go missing-nin, and that was nearly impossible. The only people who ever went missing from Suna were the best. Any others who tried to abandon the village were hunted down before they made it out of the unforgiving desert.

The chuunin pointed her down a dirt road and hopped away. Moments later, Temari felt a pinprick at the base of her neck and her body locked up, completely immobile. An attractive girl with a thin build and long black hair landed in front of her. She stared at Temari for a long while, saying nothing, just studying her with a chilly expression on her face.

"Naruto-kun is one of the best people on this continent. He is kind, caring, and goes out of his way to make sure the people he considers precious are never unhappy. Feel grateful that you are being allowed into his life, especially in such a manner. Remember that instead of a bloated and disgusting merchant who would treat you as nothing more than a slave for the rest of your existence, you are going to marry someone who will value you forever, despite your home village's actions against us."

Haku moved her hand sharply, passing it in front of Temari's face, and the air temperature dropped dramatically as the sweat on her face turned to frost. "And while I do not enjoy hurting people, if you ever do anything adverse to Naruto-kun, know that I will freeze the blood in your veins, and shatter your bones."

Haku leapt for the trees, smoothly removing the needle she had stabbed into Temari's neck as she moved over the girl's shoulder and pushing her face first to the ground in one motion. The cold air left with the beautiful girl, but the ice crystals on Temari's face stayed, a reminder. Moments after Haku disappeared, Temari felt her limbs come under her control once more, and she pushed herself off the ground, wiping her face. After brushing the dirt off her front, Temari continued along the path, her face red and lips twisted into a scowl.

--

Naruto hated Jiraiya. The old man hadn't left him alone since he had a summoned toad drag Naruto out of his comfortable bed. For his bachelor party, the Sannin had said. Tradition, he had said.

Yeah, right.

The old pervert just wanted a reason to look at naked women and drink sake.

It didn't help matters that Jiraiya wasn't alone. Ibiki, Zabuza, Iruka, Kakashi, Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji had apparently been invited as well, and only Chouji seemed to be inclined to help Naruto at all.

Ibiki had said it was a rite of passage, and poured a shot of alcohol down Naruto's throat (a responsible parent, Ibiki was not). Zabuza told Naruto to loosen up and forced a bottle of sake into Naruto's hands. Kakashi hadn't been any help, but considering the strippers on stage (even Naruto would say they were attractive, even if they were too old for him), Naruto hadn't expected much from the masked pervert. Even Iruka was transfixed by the women. While not as perverted as Kakashi or Jiraiya, Iruka was a grown man and subject to temptations of the flesh like any other. He at least told Naruto to try and enjoy himself, even if he didn't exactly want to be there.

Shino was even less help than Kakashi, surprisingly. He hadn't spoken or moved since sitting down. He just seemed to vibrate and buzz lowly, and Naruto couldn't get a word out of him, even after five minutes of pestering. Shikamaru was resting his chin on his arms, folded across the table. He had positioned the straw so he could drink whatever it was he had (it wasn't alcoholic, but other than that, Naruto didn't have a clue) without having to move.

Naruto had bugged him to try and help him escape, but the lazy boy lifted his head just enough to look Naruto in the eyes.

"Naruto," the lazy boy said, "stop being so troublesome. You're being thrown a party. We're trying to make sure you have a good time despite that tomorrow you're getting married to a girl you've only talked to once or twice. So sit down, shut up, get drunk, and look at the naked girls. And before you try to say that it's perverted, it's their job. We kill people, they take their clothes off."

Naruto sat back after that, frowning, arms crossed over his chest. A minute later, he signaled for one of the scantily clad waitresses. Ero-Sennin had dragged him off before he had gotten anything to eat, and he was starving. Even if they didn't serve food usually, they would if he tipped enough.

--

Temari shoved against the door a few more times, rattling the lock noisily. "There's not much point in trying that," Naruto said from the chair by the bed in his room. "Ero-sennin's probably already sealed us in. And there's no way we're getting out until he releases it, if that's the case. We're stuck here for the night, at least."

"Shit."

"Well, you don't have to sound so happy about it," Naruto griped. "It's not like newlyweds spending a wedding night together is something normal or anything."

Temari wheeled around to glare at Naruto. "Look. We may be married now, but I am not going to sleep with you. We are a political match, nothing else. Besides, you don't really do anything for me. You're too young for me."

Naruto scowled. "Hey, we're only three years apart! That's not that much!"

"Maybe not in a couple years, but right now it is. Besides, this is a political marriage. We're not based on compatibility or whether we like each other or not, it's purely for show."

"So, what, you don't even like me at all?"

Temari sighed. "Look, I owe you one. You helped Gaara, and he's really changed. I don't think anyone else could have done that. And you'll probably be pretty cute, in a couple years, but like I said, it's a political marriage. You'll have your affairs, and I'll have mine. That's standard for couplings like ours."

"What, that's that? We can't even be friends or anything?"

"I never said that, stop putting words in my mouth. Besides, you've probably already got your eye on someone, what do you want me for?"

"Well, there's Haku-chan…"

"See! If you've already got someone, quit coming after me. Greedy pervert."

"I am not a pervert!" Naruto shouted. He was still somewhat guilty over the bachelor party.

There was a bit of an awkward silence before Temari changed the subject. "Who was the guy in the samurai armor? I remember most of the others from the exams, but I thought most samurai were under command of the Fire Daimyo?"

"I don't know about that, I never paid attention in the academy. I guess. But he wasn't a samurai. Or maybe he is, I don't really know, we never really talked about that. I'm probably going to be talking to him more soon, so I can find out for you if you want. But he's not human. He's a kitsune." Naruto figured that if they were going to be married, she deserved some truth, considering she already knew some parts already.

"Really?"

Naruto nodded and decided to give Temari a partial truth. "Yeah. See, me and the Kyuubi are a lot closer than most jinchuuriki are. It's probably because of the seal. Most jinchuuriki have their demon bound with a human sacrifice. The Kyuubi was bound with a human sacrifice and backed by the power of the Shinigami. Instead of being released when I die, the Kyuubi will go on to the afterlife with me. At least, that's the theory. Nobody's sure, because I'm still alive. And because of something that happened when I was younger, I get along with Kyuubi pretty well. He even gave me the Kitsune summoning contract, to help keep me from dying, since he doesn't want to end up in the afterlife."

"So he's a summon?"

"Yeah. He's a pretty cool guy, too. Say, do you have any summoning contracts?"

Temari hesitated; sharing secrets like this wasn't done by anyone, not in the ninja world. Of course, Naruto didn't seem to be a regular ninja at all; he was just giving away information that dedicated spies would spend their entire careers trying to get a hold of. Even a tiny bit of information about the Kyuubi would be invaluable to any Hidden Village with a grudge against Konoha.

It was one of the main reasons people feared fighting jinchuuriki. Even without counting their incredible strength, they risked releasing the demon if something went wrong with the seal, or if it wasn't designed to contain the demon for a time after the death of the jinchuuriki.

Temari came to a decision. If Naruto was going to be so open, so could she. Besides, he had helped make Gaara safer without even knowing him. Maybe he was just a genuinely nice guy. "Yes, but it's only a minor contract, I can only summon a few weasels total, and only one of those reliably."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked, his brows furrowed.

"Because I don't have enough chakra," Temari said slowly. "There's two or three on my contract that I've never summoned at all, because I simply can't. Summoning is a jounin level skill for a reason. I shouldn't even have the contract I do. It's only because of who my father was that I got even the minor contract."

"Oh. Well that's cool."

"Wait," Temari interrupted before Naruto could get his next thought out. "If you can really call on the high end summons, why don't you just bring one out to break down the wall or something, so we aren't stuck in here all night?"

Naruto shook his head. "Well first off, I could take down that wall on my own, if I wanted to. You probably wouldn't have any trouble either. It's not that thick or anything. But this is my house, and this is my room, and I don't feel like destroying it. Especially since I'd be the one who has to clean it up, and pay for repairs. Second, I don't know how your summons work, but I know that anyone big enough to take down that wall really wouldn't be happy with me calling them just to break down a wall. Well, I know the toads would be upset. Everybody from the fox contract just seems really eager to do whatever I say. Thirdly…"

Temari waved her hands wildly in front of Naruto's face. "Hold on a second! Are you telling me you have two summoning contracts? Full ones?"

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I didn't even know you could only have partial contracts until you said something. I had already signed the one, and Jiraiya said there was no way his apprentice wasn't going to be able to summon toads. Of course, I just think he didn't want to piss off Gamabunta, but I don't think anyone would. He'll sit on you if you don't watch what you say to him. And he's huge!"

As they talked deep into the night, staying with the mostly safe topics of ninja techniques and hobbies, Temari reflected that Uzumaki Naruto had absolutely no concept of secrecy or need to know basis.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Author's Note:** Here it is. The last chapter.

* * *

Naruto cut his training with Dachi short when a messenger hawk swooped down, signaling he was needed at the Hokage Tower. Minutes later, Naruto hopped through one of the windows, landing in front of the Hokage's secretary. "Any idea what the old man wants?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Must be urgent. We aren't supposed to get our next mission until tomorrow."

"Hokage-sama will see you now," the secretary said, halting any further discussion.

Sarutobi finished signing the form in front of him before acknowledging the team. "I need you and your team to retrieve a Konoha shinobi who has left the village. Normally this would fall to the hunter nin, but we currently are uncertain if they left of their own will or not. We have reason to believe four of Orochimaru's people infiltrated the village last night, and they may have something to do with the disappearance."

"Who is the shinobi we are supposed to recover?" Shino asked mildly.

"Someone Orochimaru has shown interest in before. Your old classmate, Uchiha Sasuke. Your mission is to find and retrieve him. Bring him back alive and intact if at all possible. The group who is escorting him was last seen moving north, towards Oto. One of our patrol groups ran across them after they left, but they weren't able to detain them. According to their report, all of them possess Orochimaru's curse seal, so if a confrontation is necessary, make sure to do away with them immediately, before they are able to enhance their abilities."

"Will it just be the three of us?" Shikamaru asked. "I'd like more chuunin or a jounin if we are going to face some of Orochimaru's experiments."

"There aren't any other chuunin or jounin immediately available, and time is crucial. Gather as many genin as you think you will need and leave as soon as possible. Be careful."

"What are our orders concerning Uchiha?" Shino inquired. "If he resists."

"As I said, bring him back alive and intact. But if that isn't possible, Orochimaru cannot be allowed to get his hands on the Sharingan. Kill him, if that is what is required."

The team nodded and left the office. "Who do you want?" Shikamaru prompted.

"I'd like to have Haku-chan, but I don't know if she'd be allowed away from the hospital. Baa-chan has her working pretty much around the clock."

Shikamaru nodded. "Go anyway. See if you can't get her. If we really are going to face a bunch of Orochimaru's experiments, we'll need a medic. Shino and I will go track down Gai's team, and see if they're available. Meet at the North Gate as soon as possible."

--

"Come on Baa-chan, I really need her for this mission," Naruto pleaded.

"No, we're still understaffed. You know that," Tsunade explained, not looking away from the chart in her hand, marking something as she spoke.

"Dammit, this hospital has been understaffed for the past six years, at least, and you know it. Letting Haku-chan come on this mission isn't going to change anything. And if you're that worried, request someone come over from the civilian hospital."

"Why do you want her along? You've been doing missions as a chuunin just fine until now. The only time you even had to see medical after a mission was the one the other day when you ran across a demon."

"Because we're going to be going up against some of the Snake Bastard's freaks on this one, and there's no telling what they hell they can do!" Naruto snapped angrily. "You know that having a medic as talented as Haku-chan is a good idea. Me and my team are less likely to come back dead, and if there's anything to learn from their bodies, she'd be able to tell."

"You didn't say you'd be tracking some of Orochimaru's people." Tsunade made another mark on the clipboard and set it down. "Fine. Take her, just make sure she gets back to me in one piece. And make sure you get back in one piece. That damn necklace has taken enough people from me during my life.

--

"That's why we need you."

"Yosh! I swear we will bring back Uchiha-san, or I will do one thousand one-handed push-ups! And if I cannot do that, I will run five hundred laps around Konoha!"

"Lee!" Neji barked. "We don't have the time."

"And where is Tenten-san?" Shino asked as they leapt off towards the North Gate.

"Her Flames of Youth burned far too brightly on her last mission, and she will be unable to join us for several days yet."

Shino didn't say anything as he looked at Neji, wanting a translation.

"Severe chakra exhaustion."

"Ah."

--

Naruto and Haku landed just outside the gates, looking expectantly at Shikamaru, the de facto leader of the group. "We'll head out in standard formation. Neji, stay in the rear, your Byakugan will be able to warn us of anyone trying to trap us from behind. Naruto, take the front. Your enhanced senses and ability to soak up damage will be better there. Lee, you stay right behind him. Haku, stay towards the center, we can't have our medic getting hit before the fight even starts. Shino and Shikamaru will be on either side of you. Any questions? No? Good. Let's go."

--

"Alright, this is far enough. We're past any regular Konoha patrols," Sakon said, stopping the group.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked irritably.

"Before we take you any further, there is one last order from Orochimaru-sama."

"And I'm asking you what it is," Sasuke snapped.

"You have to advance your curse seal to its final stage. Otherwise, you are useless to Orochimaru-sama as a servant."

"I didn't come along to be a servant; I came because you promised me the power I need to kill my brother."

"This will give you power," Sakon explained, holding up a small bottle. "This drug will force your curse seal to the next level, granting you enough power to be a match to any one of us."

"All I have to do is take that drug?" Sasuke asked, skeptical.

"It's not that simple. Your body is far from accustomed to the strength of the curse seal. Right now, you are still crippled in pain after using only the first stage. Without our help, you wouldn't be able to last more than a minute before your body gave out and you died."

"Then what do you expect me to do?"

"You'll stop asking questions, and take the damn drug, dumbass," Tayuya snapped.

"Our barrier ninjutsu are unlike anything you've heard of. With our help, your body will be able to acclimatize itself to the second stage without destroying itself. Instead of dying, you'll only be put in a light coma."

Sasuke scowled. "Fine." He tipped the bottle back and downed the contents. He doubted it was doing anything for the first moment, before the pain hit and he collapsed.

Jiroubou grabbed Sasuke and stuffed him in the barrel as Sakon and Ukon split apart to control two points of the jutsu.

The four moved their hands through the required seals in perfect unison, creating a heavy mist that hung in the air before spiraling down to cap the barrel, sealing the chakra barrier with six blood stained papers.

"Okay…first step's done."

--

"Stop!" The group ground to a halt at Neji's shout. "There's explosive tags right there. If we go any further we'll set them off."

"Asuma explained these to me when he was talking about high level traps I might encounter," Shikamaru said slowly, studying the area. "The tags are linked together, so if we pass through them, they'll all explode. Neji, are there any more?"

"Yes, and each set seems connected in a grid pattern. There's no way to sneak through the cracks."

"How far do they go?"

"At least as far as the range of my Byakugan. I can't say more than that."

"We don't have time to go around, but there's no way to get through it," Naruto muttered. "Hey everybody, get back."

They grumbled, but everyone hopped out of range of the tags. Naruto created a single clone and sent it on a suicide run. Shikamaru started to stop him, but it was too late, the clone was past the detonation trigger.

BOOM!

"Naruto, you idiot, what'd you do that for? You just told them right where we are!" Neji demanded.

"The quickest way through a trap is to set it off. And once you know it's there, the trap's not a danger to you anymore. Besides, if they're close enough to hear that explosion, they're close enough that we can catch up to them easily, or they thought we just got caught and they don't have to worry about pursuers anymore. And if they aren't close enough to hear them go off, we don't have any time to waste working on getting around those things. So let's stop wasting time and get going."

--

"We need to get going," Jiroubou rumbled.

"What are you talking about? Those leaf licking morons just blew themselves up," Tayuya snorted. "Or they're back there worrying over the legs their buddies are now missing."

"No, he's right," Sakon said. "The detection jutsu Orochimaru-sama taught me is responding to six people heading for us."

"Fine, grab the barrel and let's get out of here."

An hour and a half later, Sakon spoke up again. "They're still gaining. They're almost on top of us."

"We're only an hour or so from the border. If we can make it there, we should be able to get one of the patrols to help distract them."

"Fuck that. Jiroubou, stay here and hold them off. Your fat ass is just slowing us down anyway."

"Tayuya, a lady shouldn't speak like that."

"Screw you! Give Sakon the barrel and go kill those Konoha bastards. Don't toy with them either, just go level two and get rid of them."

"Alright, Tayuya."

--

"One of the chakra signals we have been tracking has stopped," Shino announced. His brow twitched. "Now it seems to be…altering itself."

"Like he's doing a jutsu?" Neji questioned.

"No. It's different. The chakra itself is twisting. It feels…unnatural. My allies are unsettled by it."

Neji suppressed a gasp as the figure entered his Byakugan's field of vision. It had thick orange skin, with unnatural bumps and ridges covering his face and arms. But while the strange appearance was bizarre enough, but that wasn't what drew his attention. The chakra the figure was putting out didn't glow as normal. It was just the opposite. He stood out as a dark miasma against an otherwise crystal clear world. The unnatural chakra even seemed to eat away at the surrounding chakra, corrupting the world just by standing there.

"Naruto, go in first. Everyone else, stay behind the tree line," Shikamaru ordered quietly.

Naruto leapt towards the figure in the clearing, idly creating a horde of twenty clones to help him, all descending on the Sound shinobi bellowing at the top of their lungs.

The moment he broke the tree line, Jiroubou ripped an enormous boulder from the ground, sending it rolling at the surprised group.

"Scatter!" Shikamaru shouted, still hidden by the trees.

The group's formation was completely broken by the boulder as it carved a fifty-foot path of destruction across the once serene forest. "So strong…" Lee murmured in awe.

Half the Naruto clones had been destroyed by the attack, having been too close to dodge, but the rest were currently bombarding Jiroubou with quick attacks, jumping back before they could be destroyed. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be having much effect.

"What the hell?" Naruto swore as he jumped back out of range of the transformed ninja's punches. His knuckles were starting to bruise from hitting the powerful ninja.

"Haha! My curse seal makes me far more powerful than I would be normally, and makes my skin as tough as stone! You don't stand a chance. Even if you were able to land a hit capable of hurting me, I'd destroy you the second you got so close."

"Shikamaru." Everyone turned to look as the voice cut across the battlefield, and they were surprised to find that it had been Haku who had spoken. "Take the others. I will deal with this unfortunate experiment."

"No, we'll be able to defeat him faster together."

Haku nodded demurely. "That may be true, but if you don't continue after Sasuke, he may cross the border, and you know that as soon as that happens, he is effectively out of our hands, and into Orochimaru's."

"I don't want to leave us short our medic."

"I understand your concerns, but do not worry." She smiled gently. "This will not take long. And don't worry about me being hurt. There is a reason Tsunade-shishou took me as a student."

"Fine. Everybody, we're going after Sasuke!"

Jiroubou moved to keep the group from moving on, but Haku appeared in front of him in a blur of speed. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to stop them. We are on a very important mission. I have no desire to kill you, but I will if you force me."

The monstrous ninja growled. "Get out of the way. I don't want to hurt a lady like you, but I'm not going to let Orochimaru-sama down." He gave Haku a few heartbeats to move before lashing out with a palm strike that shattered a tree.

Haku flicked out a handful of senbon that struck Jiroubou's flesh and bounced off. "Didn't you hear me? You'll never hurt me with my curse seal making my skin as tough as stone. Just run away."

"No." Haku blurred again and dashed forward, sinking her small fist into Jiroubou's gut, sending him flying into the trunk of a tree on the other side of the clearing. "While my style focuses on my speed to overwhelm my opponents, I am far from weak. I have been trained by Tsunade of the Sannin, and I know her secret of unparalleled strength. Your skin, while strong enough to defend against most opponents, is nothing before me. Accept your defeat gracefully."

Jiroubou shoved the tree trunk off his chest. Tossing it with one hand, it passed through the space Haku had occupied moments before. He formed a short sequence of hand seals and punched the ground, a wave of earth racing towards the ice-user.

Haku looked at her opponent as she passed a green glowing hand over her left arm. "I'm somewhat impressed," she admitted. "That attack was far faster than I expected. You even hit my arm."

"I'm going to do more than that," he growled as he started another technique. Haku was still twenty feet away when sharp, short spikes erupted from the ground, covering the entire clearing.

Panting, Jiroubou scanned the area, not spotting his opponent anywhere. She should have been howling in pain, her feet skewered by his jutsu, but she wasn't anywhere he could see.

There was light prick and a tingle at the base of his neck. "That's an impressive jutsu, though you seem to have exhausted your chakra rather quickly. I suppose it's true that the curse seal is more harmful than helpful over the long term," his opponent whispered over his shoulder.

He tried to turn to face her, but instead contorted violently as his body refused his commands. He caught the sight of a melting slab of ice out of the corner of his eye as Haku moved herself in front of him.

"Don't struggle, you'll only hurt yourself. I used a jutsu unique to medic nins to scramble your nerve's signals. Any attempts to move will be interpreted incorrectly, though you've already experienced that somewhat. Only someone intimately familiar with their body would be able to counter it, like a medic ninja or advanced taijutsu specialist. Sadly, you appear to be neither."

Jiroubou tried to scowl as Haku's hand flashed down, and his world went dark.

Wiping her hand clean with a look of distaste, Haku made sure Jiroubou was dead before jumping off in the direction of the border.

--

"They're following us again," Sakon said. "It appears Jiroubou failed to stop them."

"Stupid bastard. Can't do anything right."

"No, there's one less in the group now."

"Better than nothing, I suppose. Are they going to catch up with us before we hit the border?"

"If they keep gaining on us like they are, they'll catch up with us just before the border."

"Shit."

"And neither one of us have enough wide area jutsu to deal with them all at once like Jiroubou did."

"Fat lot of good it did him, the dumbass."

"Better him than us."

"Just go faster, shithole," Tayuya snapped as she pulled ahead.

--

"We're almost to the border." Everyone understood what Shikamaru carefully didn't say.

"They are just ahead." Shino paused. "Another person is advancing quickly from the direction of Rice Field Country."

"Well then let's get them before they pass Sasuke off," Naruto shouted as he sprang forward with a burst of speed.

They converged on Tayuya and Sakon the same moment as a blurred figure fell from the canopy and knocked Naruto back against a tree, slicing open his chest. Blood arced away as he soared.

The grey-haired shinobi stood up from his crouch and face the Sound shinobi, ignoring the Konoha nin completely. "You have failed. Give me the barrel."

"K-Kimimaro, what are you doing here?" Tayuya stuttered, fear coloring her voice. "You're going to kill yourself."

He looked at her dismissively. "My body is dead. I survive only by my will. And my will is to serve Orochimaru-sama once more before I fall. Give me Orochimaru-sama's new body."

"Hey bastard!" Naruto shouted, levering himself off the tree trunk, the chest wound already closing. "You're not getting Sasuke! Not if I have anything to say about it. He's coming back with us."

The look Kimimaro gave the Konoha nin clearly told them what he thought of them. "Tayuya, Sakon. If you have any hope to redeem yourselves in Orochimaru-sama's eyes, kill these pieces of trash. Without sparing any of them another glance, Kimimaro stole the barrel from Sakon's arms and took off at incredible speed.

"Get them! We can't let Orochimaru get Sasuke!" Lee nodded and jumped at Sakon, dodging under the incredibly fast blows sent at his head to thrust his fist into Sakon's ribs.

A third hand melted out from Sakon's torso and caught the punch. A foot shot out of his thigh and barely missed when Lee shifted his feet. "How are you doing that?"

Sakon ignored the question as he forced Lee back, punches coming faster than anyone could track easily. They broke apart as a kunai soared between them.

Tayuya burst through the space between them, her jagged curse seal already marking half her face. Neji was retreating from her attacks, parrying her blows with deft movements. He tried shutting down her tenketsu, but wasn't able to get in close enough to hit any of the major points, and she was only feeling a slight discomfort in her hands as a result.

Forcing her curse seal to enhance her strength even further, Tayuya broke Neji's guard and kicked both her feet against his chest, sending him flying back against the trunk of a tree.

"Oof!"

"Dumbass. Take this," Tayuya sneered. She pulled her flute from a hidden pocket and played a few short notes. Neji's world erupted in pain as images assaulted his mind. "Like that? Son of a–"

Tayuya's gloating was cut off as Neji lashed out with a Jyuuken strike that would have shredded every muscle in her throat, had she not been able to dodge. "What the hell?"

"You've obviously never faced a Hyuuga," Neji stated, the veins around his eyes bulging grotesquely. "My bloodline allows me to see through your genjutsu, and once I can see through it, it is child's play to break it."

"Bastard," Tayuya snarled as she threw a trio of shuriken at Neji.

"Shit! Watch out!" Naruto warned as he bobbled his tagged kunai. Instead of exploding between Sakon and Tayuya, the tag went off early, blowing Shikamaru and Shino off the cliff face, sending them down into the ravine along with Sakon and Tayuya.

Naruto gazed down into the ravine, not even able to see halfway down. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and flinched away from the touch. Neji dropped his hand but looked Naruto square in the eye. "We need to continue the mission. If they survived the fall, your teammates have nothing to fear from their opponents."

Naruto shook himself. "Right, we're going after Sasuke. They'll be fine. We're all going to be fine." He looked down at the ravine. "But we're helping them as soon as we can."

--

Shino grunted as he bounced to a stop on the ravine floor. The fall wasn't as far as he thought it would be at the top, but that just meant it wasn't immediately fatal. He could feel at least one broken rib, though thankfully none of his organs had been punctured. He knew that if he hadn't buffered his fall with chakra he would have been far worse off.

"Son of a bitch…"

Shino froze as he heard the foul-mouthed kunoichi curse not far from his position. At a barely thought mental command, kikai bugs marched out of his sleeves, and began spreading themselves around the immediate area.

Shino knew the second he was detected. The Oto-nin went from making muted grumbles to absolutely silent in an instant. A moment later, a haunting melody filled his ears.

--

Shikamaru pressed against the cliff wall as he felt around his equipment pouch for a soldier pill. One left. He popped it in his mouth and tensed as the chakra filled his veins.

"There!"

A dozen kunai ripped through the bush Shikamaru had been using for cover, and he barely moved in time to avoid being cut to ribbons. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the grey haired shinobi smirking at him.

"So, you're not quite the trash I thought you were. It doesn't matter, I'll kill you just the same."

Shikamaru gritted his teeth as his mind raced, seeing the paths the fight might follow. He dodged backward, on the defensive already.

After several seconds of frantic taijutsu exchange, Shikamaru knew that unless he finished the fight quickly, he had no way to win.

--

"The target is just ahead. He appears to have stopped for some reason," Neji reported.

"I'll go in first to distract him. If you see an opening, take it. If you can get Sasuke out of there, do it. I'll keep him busy."

Neji and Lee nodded and fell back as Naruto broke the tree line, a hundred duplicates exploding into existence as he dropped to the ground.

"Give me Sasuke, and I'll let you live," Naruto said, his voice coming from twenty bodies at once.

"No. He is to be the next vessel of Orochimaru-sama. If you try to interfere with my mission, I will kill you."

"Fine. Just remember that I gave you a chance to walk away."

"Very well." A burst of smoke came from behind Kimimaro as a clone attacked him.

Clones raced in from all directions, half of them holding kunai.

--

Shino burst from the bushes; smacking aside the awkward blow the kunoichi sent his way before landed two hits on her shoulders. Despite having her hands occupied, she was still able to knock him back before he could land any real damage.

"Asshole," she growled before putting the flute to her lips and wavering into nothingness.

Shino's world started to melt, but he furrowed his eyebrows and quickly suppressed his chakra. His sensei may not have been as strong as some of his friend's teachers, but Kurenai-sensei had nearly tortured her students until they could all throw off all but the most potent genjutsu. That Shino was struggling against her illusions spoke a great deal about the Sound girl's technique.

There was a moment of perfect silence before the distinct explosion of summoning smoke told Shino where his opponent was. Before he could try to mount an attack, the lone tree amongst the tall bushes shattered, splinters peppering his face and bouncing off his jacket. Thankful that his glasses saved his eyes, Shino stared at the monstrous creature that demolished the tree seconds earlier.

It was easily twice his size, if not larger, carrying a heavy studded club fit for its huge frame. Lank gray hair completely covered the being's face and head, but Shino had the unnerving feeling that the face underneath was anything but human, even if its body had the shape of a man.

Shino didn't know where the girl had obtained this summon, but he was fairly sure he would be better off not knowing.

Staccato notes split the air and the demon _moved_, moved far faster than something that big should be able to move. Shino tried to dodge, but the club hit his ankle, crushing the bones instantly.

Shino howled in pain, but forced himself out of the way of the second strike. The brush barely concealed his retreat, but gave him enough time to fire a single jutsu.

The demon stopped, motionless. Shino smirked, his deafness genjutsu worked, but he knew it wouldn't last.

Shino forced himself to move, choking back groans of pain, landing to the right of the demon, hands already blurring. Half a dozen explosive slips of paper stuck to the demon's side, burning slowly. The demon shook itself and Shino knew the girl had broken his genjutsu. Or maybe the demon had freed itself. He didn't know how autonomous this summon was. The staccato notes started again, and the demon attacked, swinging the club through Shino.

The illusionary clone wavered and disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the real Shino ran faster. His hands formed the release seal without thought, and his explosive tags ripped through the brush, a thirty-foot ball of flame and concussive force that sent the demon back to wherever it lived.

The kunoichi appeared in front of him, black marks that weren't there a moment before covering half her face. "Die," she spat, and Shino froze as a sickly sweet melody came from her flute.

Then the redhead collapsed, her throat slit from behind. Shino stood behind her, and the clone in front of her dissolved into a black mass of insects that quickly covered their host.

It was the last thing Tayuya saw before she bled to death.

--

Kimimaro spun on the ball of his foot, his bone sword cutting through the clones surrounding him easily.

"You cannot win this fight. Surrender now, and I will make your death painless."

Naruto readied himself for another charge, but an unnatural hissing distracted him. Black, evil looking smoke was erupting from the top of the barrel Kimimaro was protecting. A burst of chakra destroyed most of the clones remaining, and Sasuke was free from his temporary prison.

"It is done," Kimimaro murmured, and stabbed the clone that jumped for the barrel. "Orochimaru-sama's new body is ready."

"Sasuke! I'm taking you back to Konoha, like it or not," Naruto said.

"I don't think so," Sasuke grunted. He mercilessly stabbed the Naruto that dove for him with a kunai, and then looked at the real Naruto with a gaze that said he thought nothing of the blonde. "I'm strong, stronger than Konoha could ever have made me, and Orochimaru has promised me more. Stay out of my way if you want to stay alive."

Naruto snarled and jumped for Sasuke, only to earn a slash across the chest from Kimimaro. "I will not let you steal Orochimaru-sama's new body away from him." The bone sword plunged forward for a lethal strike, but a green blur rocketed into Kimimaro's side, knocking him away. Lee was on the bone user in a second, kicks and punches slamming against Kimimaro's torso.

"Go after Sasuke," Neji said, standing beside Naruto. "Your style won't be able to beat him, he's changed his skeleton to create a full layer of armor under his skin. You'll never break it, but the perfection of Jyuuken will pierce his defense. I've watched him, and with Lee, I can beat him."

Naruto thought it over briefly, and nodded. "Just be careful. This guy still hasn't shown everything he can do, and he's probably going to get serious once I run off."

"Just finish the mission, we will keep him from interfering."

"Don't die," Naruto ordered, and then was gone, hot on Sasuke's trail.

--

Shikamaru grunted as another powerful kick sent him skidding across the rocky ground next to the river. He needed twenty seconds to pull off his plan, but there wasn't any cover and his opponent was far too fast for him to get away.

"You stupid piece of trash, this is just getting boring at this point. Look at yourself, you can barely pull yourself up," Sakon mocked. "I haven't even needed to activate my seal. I was hoping for something more fun."

Shikamaru forced himself onto his feet and took a deep breath.

Then he jumped in the water, sinking to the bottom.

"Already trying to run away," Sakon grumbled.

"Let's keep him from drowning, brother," Ukon said from behind him. "If we bring him back alive, Orochimaru-sama might not torture us."

Sakon nodded his agreement and dove into the water. His detection jutsu wasn't designed for underwater use, but it was manageable, and Sakon quickly picked out Shikamaru's position. With a burst of chakra-enhanced speed, Sakon was on top of the Nara, punching him in the temple and swiftly rising to the surface. He dumped his unconscious opponent on the bank and sucked in clean air.

Then every muscle in his body locked up, and Sakon saw a thin shadow running off to behind a jagged rock.

"You took the bait," Shikamaru said as he stepped into view. Sakon's eyes darted over and saw the Nara in front of him crumble to dirt. "Earth clones aren't the smartest clones, but they can take a fair bit of damage and they follow orders well."

Another clone stepped out from behind a rock and started towards Sakon. The seal burned on his forehead as black marks started covering his face. But before the curse seal was able to take hold and boost his chakra, Sakon's arm jerked around and the kunai sank into his shoulder.

"You seem to have some way of healing yourself, or replacing damaged tissue, probably due to your being two people in one body," Shikamaru mused. "And I don't know how long you can hold your breath, so I'll have to take the troublesome route." Sakon nodded in unison with Shikamaru, and the earth clone dashed forward, putting a small slip of paper on both Sakon and Ukon's foreheads. "Troublesome. Kai."

The explosion destroyed the clone, but Shikamaru didn't release his hold on the jutsu until after the smoke cleared and the headless corpse of the brothers was in view. Shikamaru shook his head and grumbled as he slathered a generic salve over his recent bruises. That chore done, he spared one last look at the blood stained river before jumping off where he believed Shino to be.

--

Naruto funneled more chakra to his legs as he raced after Sasuke. He hadn't been kidding when he said the barrel made him stronger; Naruto had released his gravity seal long ago and was still only keeping pace with the Uchiha at this point.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted in an attempt to stop the Uchiha, but to no avail. Sasuke never even faltered in his tree hopping. They weren't that far away from each other, within visual range, but Sasuke was still farther than Naruto's furthest reaching jutsu.

The forest opened up minutes later, a beautiful waterfall framed by the enormous statues of the Shodai Hokage and Uchiha Madara. It was where the two powerhouses of the past had fought to shape the future of Konoha. It was the Valley of the End.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called from atop Uchiha Madara's head. "I've wanted to fight you for a long time, and where better than the site of Konoha's most legendary battle."

"What the hell, Sasuke? You wanted to fight me, so you left Konoha?" Naruto stopped halfway up the Shodai's statue, perched on one of the fingertips.

"No, I left Konoha because I had learned everything I could there, and they were just holding me back. Orochimaru has promised me power and I will use it to kill my brother."

"What's wrong with you? How in the world was Konoha holding you back?"

"They dumped me on a worthless team led by an idiot chuunin. We weren't even given any missions outside the village. That's no place for an Uchiha."

"Would you listen to yourself? You think you're entitled to whatever you want. You don't even realize how much you don't know."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke snapped.

"To start with, you never learned the importance of a good distraction."

Before Sasuke could respond, his muscles seized and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The clone on the Shodai's finger dispelled and Naruto grabbed the unconscious Sasuke. The seal Naruto used was fairly standard and specifically used for capturing people alive. All it required was contact with the target's skin and it would use the target's chakra to keep them unconscious.

Naruto hefted Sasuke onto his shoulder. "We were teammates, and he never even learned that if I was talking during a fight, I was doing something else. And he called me stupid."

Naruto hopped down the statue and started across the river. Suddenly, there was a chakra signature behind him.

"Hello, Uzumaki Naruto."

--

Neji dashed in, the tips of his fingers glowing with restrained chakra, straining to be released. Most Hyuuga his age would hemorrhage chakra if they tried the advanced technique, but it spoke of Neji's genius that he was able to use it flawlessly. Neji flowed effortlessly into sync with Lee, attacking Kimimaro in tandem.

Lee was stronger than any other genin his age, but even that wasn't enough to break the altered skeleton of their enemy. Lee's powerful blows rebounded off the boy's skin, causing only the most superficial of damage. Even so, Lee was fast enough to keep Kimimaro's attention focused on him, blocking most of the attacks the spandex clad ninja sent his way.

Neji danced within Lee's strikes, brushing his fingertips across skin and injecting needle thin spikes of chakra into delicate tenketsu. His eyes saw chakra flow sputter and waver as Neji's attacks blocked the most important system in a ninja's body.

Neji had the most powerful incarnation of his bloodline in over a century, and he could see that his attacks were perfect. But there's a limit to the number of tenketsu that could be closed before a person stopped moving, and Kimimaro had passed that limit more than a dozen strikes ago.

"Confused, worthless trash? My body is dead; it is only by my will that I survive. My will to serve Orochimaru-sama one last time before the Shinigami takes my soul. That is why your attacks do not work, Hyuuga. Your will is nothing compared to mine. I will kill you, and then deliver Orochimaru's newest vessel to him."

Neji didn't reply, he merely shifted his focus to a different point inside Kimimaro. "Lee," he said suddenly, the normal confidence in his voice shaken, "his organs, nearly all of them have failed. He should be dead, but he's fighting as if it's nothing."

"His flames of youth burn brightly indeed," Lee said, surprisingly serious. "It will be a shame to see such a strong willed person extinguished prematurely. But if that is what the mission calls for, that is what we will do. And if we do not, we will do five hundred one armed push-ups!"

"If we do not," Neji said immediately, "we will be dead."

"I have no more time to waste on you trash," Kimimaro stated, shifting his grip on his bone sword. The black seal on his chest expanded to a crawling pattern a foot across, and Neji could see the corrupt chakra it granted. He had no wish to see the seal fully active.

Neji saw Kimimaro move, but couldn't do anything about it before he was on a complete defensive, barely avoiding the sword strikes, taking nicks and cuts nearly constantly.

"Lee!" Neji gasped desperately. "The Gates!"

Lee nodded. His teammate needed him, and was in mortal danger. This more than qualified a use of the forbidden technique.

"**Kaimon, Kai**!"

A blast of intense chakra burst from Lee, and his muscles bulged, the natural limits shattered.

"**Kyuumon, Kai**!"

The wave of chakra made Kimimaro stop in his assault on Neji, as the cuts and wounds Lee had accumulated vanished.

"**Seimon, Kai**!"

A visible sphere of chakra exploded from Lee as his blood flow increased many times over, turning his skin red.

"**Konoha Senpuu**!" Lee vanished from sight, reappearing with a thunderous kick that sent Kimimaro flying, disappearing just as quickly.

Lee hit Kimimaro again before he even hit the ground, rocketing the bone user into the sky.

"**Ura Renge**!"

Even Neji's advanced vision couldn't follow Lee as he pummeled Kimimaro mercilessly, striking harder with every blow until Lee began to slow down. Lee appeared directly above Kimimaro, driving a palm strike into his sternum, sending him crashing to the ground, a crater forming on impact.

Lee fell to the ground gracefully, the intense chakra receding and Lee's skin returned to its normal shade. He hit on his hands and knees, and coughed twice, flecks of blood mixed in. A moment later he looked up, flashing a proud grin at Neji, ecstatic.

"An impressive technique, to be sure, but my will is stronger than yours, Leaf ninja." Kimimaro, bruised and broken, rose from the crater, still willing to fight.

"Your will is strong, but you forget one thing."

"Oh?"

"You are within the field of my divination. **Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho**!"

"Two strikes!"

"Four strikes!"

"Eight strikes!"

"Sixteen strikes!"

"Thirty-two strikes!"

"Sixty-four strikes!"

Kimimaro flew back, his chakra completely sealed. But just as Uzumaki Naruto before him, he tried to push himself from the ground.

Many had forgotten, and most Hyuuga pretended not to remember, but Jyuuken was not always the precise style used today. The art of collapsing tenketsu came from a more primal attack, one that attacked organs directly. The Main House Hyuuga preferred their elegant version, but the Branch family stuck closer to the roots, teaching the older, less complex version first.

It was by these techniques, the ones that Neji's father explained to him before he died, that Kimimaro died, his brain liquefied and heart exploded.

Then Hyuuga Neji, scion of the Branch family, went to check on Rock Lee, his teammate.

--

A clone snatched the unconscious Sasuke and dashed towards the tree line, but a misshapen ninja clad in a black cloak destroyed the clone just after it hit the shore, leaving Sasuke to skid to a stop on the rocks.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you will come with us."

Naruto's eyes settled on a small ninja wearing the same cloak as the one who destroyed his clone, though this one didn't have the wide brimmed hat. He was unassuming, and other than two lines on his face, looked easily dismissed in a crowd.

Except for the eyes.

**Sharingan**.

"**Kirigakure no jutsu**!" Naruto shouted, turning his eyes away before he had time to fall to a genjutsu. Jiraiya had told him exactly how dangerous this ninja was, and there was no hope fighting. Naruto had to run.

Naruto split into a hundred perfect copies, hoping to be lost in the sea of clones.

Itachi's expression didn't change as he moved through several hand seals, a maelstrom of wind filling the valley, clearing the near solid mist from the air and sending every Naruto slamming into the rock walls, leaving only the bruised original.

"Your efforts are futile. Come peacefully, and your end will be comfortable."

"Screw you! **Kuchiyose no jutsu**!" The four-story toad crouched in the shallows, partially submerged. "Gamaeki! I need some oil! **Katon: Gamayu Endan**!"

The building sized toad bulged and a stream of searing oil shot towards Itachi, ignited by Naruto's fire jutsu.

The flames died down, and Naruto cursed as he saw Itachi standing in the same spot, surrounded by a thick wall of water. The misshapen ninja appeared next to Itachi as the water collapsed.

"This is taking too long. He doesn't need to be in good condition, just alive."

"We can't risk the Kyuubi. It won't take much longer."

"Hurry up, or I'll step in. And this idiot doesn't deserve to see my art."

"We can't afford to attract attention. Just keep watch."

Naruto thought desperately, one idea passing as quickly as the next. "Gamaeki, more oil! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!"

Clones filled the valley once more, but this time they didn't try to run.

"**Katon: Karyuudan**!"

"**Suiton: Suiryuudan**!"

"**Katon: Gamayu Endan**!"

A massive explosion rocked the valley, the fire superheating the water, and blistering steam remained.

"You may have defeated my foolish little brother, but you'll find I am not as weak," Itachi whispered into Naruto's ear.

Naruto jumped and stabbed a kunai towards Itachi, but the traitor broke Naruto's fingers and disarmed him easily.

Gamaeki hopped, trying to dislodge his unwanted rider, but Itachi glued himself to the toad as they found themselves atop the cliff. Naruto tried to tear away, but Itachi's grip was firm as he broke more of Naruto's bones.

A black form coalesced behind Itachi, sparks flashing as the standard ANBU blade locked with the stolen kunai in Itachi's hand.

"Uchiha Itachi, let my apprentice go."

Jiraiya stood off to the side, an attack on his lips. Itachi considered his options for a moment before forcing Naruto and the ANBU away from him.

"Sasori." The puppeteer was currently fending off three more ANBU. "We're leaving."

A compartment on Sasori's chest opened and a cluster of smoke bombs rolled out. The cloud masked the duo's retreat, and Jiraiya signaled for the ANBU not to pursue.

"What were you doing way out here?" Jiraiya demanded.

"The bastard ran away," Naruto explained, gesturing at Sasuke with his good hand. "What are you doing out here?" he asked shrewdly.

"A mission you're not cleared to know exists. Sarutobi-sensei sent you alone?"

"No, my team ended up getting split as the mission went on." Naruto's eyes widened. "Shit, we need to get back to Lee and Neji! I left them fighting this freaky strong ninja, we gotta go help them!"

"Fine, we're on our way back to Konoha. We can pick up your team on the way. Was there anybody else on the mission?"

"Shino and Shikamaru, and Haku-chan. Haku stayed behind to fight the first guy, and Shikamaru and Shino got blown into the ravine when we were fighting the other two."

"Dammit brat, learn to make a real report. What guys, what other two?"

"Orochimaru's guard, they were really strong, with curse seals like Sasuke had, but stronger, the first guy didn't even look human when we came across him."

Jiraiya motioned to the ANBU behind him. "You three, follow the river, see what you can find. Capture the guard alive if you can, bring the bodies back for study if you can't. You, stay with me, carry the Uchiha."

Gamaeki grumbled underneath their feet, and Jiraiya immediately responded to the inhuman language. "No, we shouldn't need you for anything else."

"You could give us a ride if you want to stick around," Naruto added.

Another groaning ribbit echoed across the clearing, and Naruto cheered. "Alright, Neji and Lee shouldn't be that far that way, Gamaeki."

--

Gamaeki thumped to a stop in the wide clearing Naruto pointed out, and the group jumped off the toad's back.

Lee was lying in the middle of the clearing; Haku crouched over him, her hands glowing with green healing chakra. Neji was sitting off to the side.

"Haku-chan, what happened to Lee?" Naruto asked as the medic looked up.

"His body has been strained by the use of the Gates. He was lucky though. He'll be off his feet for a few days, but there wasn't any permanent damage done. Some blood vessels burst, but none of his muscles snapped and the only broken bones are a few in his hands and feet."

"We'll go ahead and get this body back to Konoha," Jiraiya said. "Go pick up the one Haku fought. Then get back to Konoha as fast as you can. The ANBU I sent will make sure your other teammates get back, if they're still alive."

Naruto nodded, knowing from the tone of voice that Jiraiya wasn't speaking as the usual lech, but was instead the field commander who held authority just below the Hokage's.

Jiraiya leapt off, speeding away at a pace even Gamaeki couldn't match, leaving Naruto to make his own way back.

--

"Stop!"

Gamaeki slowed to a halt before he crashed into the village walls. "Uzumaki Naruto and team returning from a priority mission for the Hokage."

"Okay, the Hokage needs to see you right away. And you need to dispel your summon, it's too large to enter the village without permission from the Hokage."

Naruto motioned to Gamaeki, and a plume of smoke filled the air after the rest of the team slid off his back. Neji picked up Lee, while Haku used her incredible chakra enhanced strength to easily carry both Sasuke and Jiroubou.

"Have you seen Nara Shikamaru or Aburame Shino come through here?" Naruto asked.

"No, why?" the guard answered.

Naruto shook his head. "Can't tell you."

"Very well, you can enter. Go directly to the Hokage Tower."

--

Sarutobi channeled chakra into a seal as Naruto and his team entered his office. "I see you completed your mission. Good job. Where is the rest of your team?"

Naruto told him. He started with the initial split, where Haku stayed behind, and went through the entire mission as he saw it, including the confrontation with Akatsuki. Sometime during the report, a pair of ninja took Sasuke and Jiroubou away, though Sarutobi never said what would happen to them.

"Thank you for completing this mission. Your village thanks you. You are all on medical leave for the next four days, resume normal duties after that. That is all."

--

Jiraiya tracked Naruto down as he was coming out of the hospital. Tsunade had just mended the bones in his hand, though Naruto would need another treatment in two days to make sure nothing was wrong.

"Hey brat. I need to speak with you."

They quickly made their way to a training ground, where Jiraiya set up a privacy seal, and Naruto made a squadron of clones to patrol around.

"We're not going to be in the village much longer. I'm going to be taking you on what will be listed as a training trip."

"What will it really be?" Naruto caught the implication right away.

"I will be training you, but after Akatsuki got so close after this past mission, we need to get you away from Konoha, and any spies they have here. Other than keeping you locked in the village all the time, there's no other way to keep you reasonably safe. And considering Akatsuki has already breeched the village once, even that option isn't optimistic."

"So we're just gonna run scared?"

"No, we're keeping what could be the most powerful weapon in the world away from a group of intensely powerful ninja, any one of which could defeat nearly any person in the village. And they work in teams. If I hadn't come across you, Itachi would have captured you, and there would be no way to know what happened. He wouldn't have left any clues, and there wouldn't have been any witnesses. You would be dead, and Akatsuki would have won. We're leaving after Tsunade-hime clears you. Let people know you're leaving on a training trip, and they shouldn't expect you for about three years," Jiraiya explained.

"Three years?" Naruto exploded.

"Yes. That should be enough time to get you to the point where you can shake off an Akatsuki agent. Maybe even defeat one, if you have a good team."

"Really?" Naruto asked hesitantly. "You can get me that strong?"

"Considering that you aren't really human at this point, coupled with your incredible growth rate, maybe. If you survive the training."

"Survive it?"

"Yeah. It won't be easy. I won't lie to you. But that's the way it goes. Look at Tsunade. You wouldn't know it to look at her, but Shizune nearly died several times under Tsunade. Haku will probably go through the same thing. Haku will probably be a little safer, considering she had a few years under her belt before Tsunade took her, but I guarantee she will collapse because of severe chakra exhaustion at least a dozen times before we return. It might even cripple her. But she knows the risks, Tsunade told them to her, and she's still training. I'm doing the same thing now. Here's your chance to back out.

"If you go with me, there's a good chance the training will kill you, or Akatsuki will track you down, torture you, and rip the demon lord out of your stomach. If you choose to stay, there's a one hundred percent chance that you will live as long as Konoha stands. But you'll be locked in a cell buried so far under the Hokage Monument you'd never see the light of day again. It's your choice."

Naruto didn't even think about it. "If I'm gonna be Hokage one day, I'm going to have to train, and I can't do that stuck under the Hokage Monument. I'm not going to run scared just because a bunch of psychos have an unnatural interest in my stomach."

Jiraiya smiled. It wasn't his usual lecherous grin, or the lazy smirk he got when he was drunk. It was an honest smile, one that Naruto hadn't seen before, one that he had the feeling most people hadn't ever seen before. It changed his whole face, and Naruto felt his face break into a matching grin.

"So brat, any questions?"

Naruto almost shook his head, but stopped himself. "What's going to happen to Sasuke now that I brought him back? Ibiki's told me what normally happens to traitors, but Sasuke's always been a special case."

Jiraiya hadn't been expected that question, and it showed on his face. Finally, he answered. "Honestly, he's going to die. We won't even have to execute him for betraying the village."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The curse seal. After Sasuke went under the process that activated the second level of the seal, he signed his own death warrant. Without exposure to Orochimaru's chakra and the master seal that controls all of Orochimaru's curse seals on a regular basis for the next six months or so, the seal will devour his life force trying to root itself, as well as systematically destroy his chakra coils. Even if he somehow survived that, he'd be a worthless husk, kept alive only by continuous chakra treatments and life support. He wouldn't even be worth keeping alive."

"So…that's it? We brought him back for nothing?"

"Of course not. His eyes will probably be transplanted, like with Kakashi. And given that it will be Tsunade performing the operation, and not a battlefield hack job, the recipient will likely be able to use it like it was originally intended, instead of having to go around with just one eye and a constant drain on his chakra. He'll also likely be milked for genetic material, at least as long as his chakra system supports that kind of thing. Then he'll be dissected for any other secrets his body holds, either to unlocking the Uchiha bloodline, or towards Orochimaru's curse seal.

"Don't feel bad for him. He made his decision, and it was the wrong one. Academy teachers tell you never to defect for a reason. Just the same for never being captured. It's not a pleasant end."

Naruto nodded grimly. "So I guess the same thing is going to happen to the guys Orochimaru sent to get Sasuke."

"Well, they're dead, so they'll skip straight to the dissection. While Konoha can't condone the forbidden experiments Orochimaru uses to enhance his ninja, we can use the results, and see if we can replicate them safely. As smart Orochimaru is, Tsunade truly has no peer when it comes to medical matters."

Naruto didn't know what to say to that, so he changed the subject. "So we're leaving as soon as I'm off of medical restriction?"

"In three or four days, yes. I need to requisition a few things before we leave, and it will give you a few days to get ready as well. But don't expect a whole lot of warning. When I say we leave, we leave then."

--

Naruto was nearly asleep on the couch when Haku walked through the door late that night. She wobbled on her feet, and leaned on the table as she passed. Naruto was alert the second the door opened, and grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Thank you," she whispered as Naruto guided her over to the couch.

Naruto rubbed her back and Haku sighed as she leaned into him. "The rest of the team made it back after you left. Shikamaru was pretty battered, but he'll be fine with a few days of rest. Not that resting will be a problem with him."

"What about Shino?"

Haku closed her eyes and images flashed through her mind. "He's alive, but he's going to have to go through several operations and seal procedures. His right ankle was nearly destroyed. We're not sure if he'll be able to resume ninja life again."

Naruto sucked air through his teeth, but didn't say anything. He wrapped an arm around Haku and pulled her tight to his body. He held her until her breathing stabilized and she fell asleep. Then Naruto picked her up and carried her to her room.

After tucking her in her bed, Naruto kissed her lightly and snuck out of the room.

"Good grief. I won't touch your penis and you're already going to other girls."

Naruto whirled around and found Temari smirking at him. "You know it's not like that. Haku and I have kinda been together for a while now. Besides, you said it yourself. We're a political match, nothing more."

Temari shook her head. "I'm just messing with you. I don't care. Just don't make it so obvious. Your enemies will use that against you."

"Thanks for the warning." Naruto shuffled his feet and changed the subject. "I'm leaving the village in the next few days. I'm going on a training trip with Ero-sennin."

"Running away from me already? How long?"

"Three years is what Ero-sennin said."

"Geez, that's a long time. Most trips aren't that long, from what I hear."

"Well, Ero-sennin is going to be training me to be the Hokage one day. Apparently there's a lot of stuff that I can't learn in the village."

"I guess so. He's the one who's trained a Hokage before, so he'd know what he's talking about. Good luck, I guess."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks."

"Well, good night."

"Good night."

--

"So you're leaving."

Naruto stopped training and looked over at Ibiki, who had just entered the training ground. "Yeah, Ero-sennin said it would be the safest thing."

"He's probably right."

"I'm supposed to be able to get a lot stronger."

"I might have a few things for you to do for me while you're out of the village."

"I can take care of them. No problem."

"Here." Ibiki flipped a scroll at Naruto's head. "Some of the people I want you to talk to won't necessarily want to talk to you. The jutsu in there should be enough to persuade them otherwise."

"Thanks Ibiki."

"Come at me."

"What?"

"We won't be able to spar against each other for the next three years. Come at me."

"Just watch my hand. If Baa-chan catches me sparring with you, she'll crack my skull."

Naruto leapt towards Ibiki with a wide grin on his face.

--

Naruto sat next to the hospital bed. Shino was unconscious, under sedation.

"They're keeping him sedated until after his next operation."

Shikamaru leaned against the doorframe. "He shouldn't have had to fight alone like that," Shikamaru said bitterly. "I was in charge, I was the one who screwed the mission up."

"I was the one who used the explosion that knocked you guys off the ridge. If it weren't for me screwing up the throw, he wouldn't be in that bed right now. It wasn't your fault."

"No, Naruto. If I had come up with a better plan of attack, we would have been able to take them down long before we did. If I had ordered us to stay behind and help Haku-san fight, we would have had her help in that initial confrontation, and that should have turned the tide."

"And if Sasuke hadn't defected, we never would have gone on the mission. If Orochimaru hadn't sent out those genetic freaks, Shino never would have been in that fight. It's not your fault, Shika, so stop blaming yourself before I punch you in the face so hard you crap out your eyeballs."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Then Shikamaru shook himself off. "That's not physically possible," he retorted.

"Won't stop me from trying to prove you wrong," Naruto shot back immediately. "Besides, seals make pretty much anything possible. Like reconstructing shattered bone. Besides, the old hag said she'd take care of Shino herself, so he's going to be fine. And this isn't the first time we've gotten hurt on a mission. Why are you beating yourself up so hard this time?"

"Because Shino might not ever be a ninja again. Every time we've been hurt before, it's been something minor, or at least not life changing. But this could change his life forever. I don't want to have something that troublesome on my conscience."

"So do something about it," Naruto told him. "Get out of here, go train. It's not like I'm going to be here to pull your butt out of the fire all the time."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm out of here in the next few days. Training trip. Gonna be about three years."

Shikamaru grunted. "Troublesome bastard."

"You know it!" Naruto laughed. "I'm the most troublesome bastard around, and you're still my friend, so quit complaining, or I'll get Anko to stop by your training grounds."

"Troublesome."

"Want to go get some ramen?"

"You're paying. And Chouji's down in the lobby, we should be able to catch him."

"Aw man, my wallet's gonna be completely flat again!"

"Not my fault you guys get in an eating contest every time."

"Hahaha!"

--

"I don't like it."

Naruto and Haku were lying on the bed in his room, snuggled against each other, clothed but wearing healthy blushes, though in the dark, they couldn't see them.

"I don't want to be away from the village for that long either. Don't want to be away from you either."

Haku smiled. "I know it's for the best, but…" she sighed. "I just don't like it."

Naruto kissed her gently. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself, and Ero-sennin will be with me."

"That you're traveling with that man is supposed to reassure me?"

Naruto chuckled nervously. "I suppose not. I'll do my best to keep him in line though."

"Good luck with that." Haku snuggled closer and closed her eyes.

Naruto gulped. "You're, uh, you're not going back to your room tonight?"

"No," Haku answered without opening her eyes. "But nothing's going to happen, so don't get too fresh."

"Yes ma'am."

"Good night, Naruto-kun."

"Good night."

--

Naruto yawned as the morning light hit his eyes. He looked down and saw his hand on Haku's right breast, her hand covering his.

Naruto let out a perverted giggle.

--

Jiraiya had grabbed Naruto an hour after he had woke up, barely giving him time to get his things. They were stopped at the gates by the Hokage.

"You've made me proud, Naruto. You've done a lot for this village, and I personally thank you. You've saved my life and the lives of many of the villagers. While service is supposed to be its own reward, I feel your actions warrant more. These papers grant you permanent passage through the borders of Fire Country. My student could likely get your reasonable fakes, but they would fail eventually. Those will be good for the rest of your life, and while they may not seem like much, but their worth will become apparent as you grow older."

"Thanks, old man."

Sarutobi smiled fondly. "You should show some respect for your elders, you know. There are those who don't take it as well as I do."

"Sure, sure. That's the problem with people, they're too uptight. But don't worry, I'll straighten them out!"

"I'm confident you will, Naruto-kun. Now, I won't delay you any further. I'll see you when you get back."

The old Hokage leapt away, just as gracefully as he did when he was a quarter his age. Jiraiya and Naruto started down the road, walking sedately instead of tree hopping like most ninja would do.

"So Ero-sennin, where are we going first?"

"Brat, quit calling me that," Jiraiya said reflexively. "And don't worry about where we're going. You've got a new jutsu to learn."

"Really! What is it?"

"It's something your father created. It's called the **Rasengan**…"

* * *

**Author's Note:** It's done!!! Before you ask, there will be a sequel. No, do not expect it shortly. It will be a while. Please don't bug me about it. Thanks for reading it, and I hope you'll come back for the sequel.


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